Changing of Seasons

I love fall. The leaves change color, the humid summer air transforms into crisp cool breezes, my house smells like an apple pie and a pumpkin had a baby. So much sweetness. Love. Sigh....

But even though fall is BY FAR my favorite season, I love different things about each one. Summer is full of laying by the pool, gardening, traveling, and relaxing. Spring brings beauty, newness, and end of school. Even nasty winter has pros: Christmas, snow (only in the month of December is it allowed), seeing relatives, snuggling with hot cocoa and a good Christmas movie. There's something to love about each season.

There's also cons to each season though. I'm not a "negative nancy" by nature, but there are definite things, with each season, that I could do without. Such as:

Spring: mud...e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. We live on a farm. Need I say more?

Summer: humidity + naturally curly but I want a part of it straight hair = pure frustration

Winter: Snow, not in December. Enough said.

And even sweet sweet fall has it's downfall.....bugs. Flies, japanese beetles, and boxelder bugs become a modern day version of the Biblical plagues here. Gross.

As I was channeling my inner Aristotle about such things, I was struck at how similar the concept is to seasons in life. Life is a constant "change of seasons". And you know what?? I'm SO grateful! As much as I would love to life in permanent "fall" mode, I would honestly get bored of it eventually. I welcome change. Change brings new, fresh, and often exciting things! It can also bring devastation, despair, and rocky roads. Just like the seasons, there can be good and hard things with each transition.

Sometimes we are in a season that we wish would last forever. But you know what? I guarantee you, at some point, you would long for some change of some kind. It's in our nature. And if we lived in the same season all the time, we wouldn't grow, we wouldn't learn, and we wouldn't experience God in ways that we never would otherwise. Change is good friends. SO good.

So rather than fight it or dread it....embrace it. Look at it as an exciting adventure. If it's tragedy you're facing, allow yourself to grieve...but also search for God through it. Open yourself to Him so that you can experience Him in an amazing way, and so that He can use you in it. Having that perspective changes everything. It may not remove the blow...but it can soften it :)

Sweet friend....I've been there. I've seen A LOT of the changing of seasons in my life....and it's not done yet. But I've learned that there is something to be gained by each one. Treasure it because it won't last forever. That season will change :)

A Bit of Honesty...

Here's some brutal and open honesty. And trust me...this doesn't paint a pretty picture of me. But I do hope the end result points to our incredible Savior and His great mercy.

I homeschool our 3 kids. Enough said. Close the book....stick a fork in me I'm done. I wish I could tell you that I love it so much, that my kids are the highlight of my day, and that I wouldn't trade this for the world. But....I would be lying to you. Yep. I said it. Brutal honesty. Now, don't get me wrong- I LOVE my kids! But I do not love being around them (or any kids for that matter) 24:7. It's not where my passion lies. And for the longest time I felt like such a jerk for it. I see others who thrive being around children and who admittedly love it. Inside I'm thinking, they are insane! Ha! I used to love being around kids more though. I babysat a lot, was a camp counselor for years, and even studied Elementary Education. But then I had my own kids. And then, kicking and screaming, I decided to homeschool.

Now you may be asking yourself "Why would she homeschool if she doesn't love being around kids all the time??". Believe me...I ask myself that All. The. Time. But see the reason I do it, goes deeper than my selfishness. It's because God called me to it. Seriously. I fought it for years. In fact, I practically screamed at a sweet friend of mine, "I will NEVER homeschool my kids!!", when she asked me if I had ever considered it. (Thankfully she still loved me, despite my hostility!...And she laughed hysterically when I told her I decided to do it lol!) But God, for some unbeknownst reason to me, wants me to. I fought and fought against it for over a year. But everywhere I turned, everything I heard, and deep inside my soul I knew it was what He wanted me to do.

Have you ever fought against something so hard....like made it your mission in life to NOT do it?? Yeah...it was like that. But I surrendered to it one day, and immediately experienced an indescribable peace like never before.

But just because I KNOW God calls me to this, doesn't mean I always love it.

Sometimes we face things in life that are hard, unpleasant, and ugly. But there is purpose in it. God often allows us to experience things either so we can experience Him in a certain way, or our character and heart can be grown and molded to what He desires it to be.

That's what He's doing here with me. I see that now. And it's days like today that I'm reminded of it and am clinging to it desperately. Overall today was a good day actually. But my heart has been struggling with selfishness lately. And sometimes I allow that to overflow into other areas in my life. I actually sat down to "vent" here. But God, in His great mercy, lifted the veil for a moment and allowed me to see a glimpse of "why" He's called me to something that stretches and grows me in an, often times, uncomfortable way. It would be so much easier for me to thrown in the towel, send my kids off to school, and basque in the quiet and stillness of an empty house. But I know there's a greater purpose in the path He has chosen for me. Romans 8:28 says that God works all things together for good. I love that verse and the reminder that it brings when I'm struggling. I'm so thankful for God's great mercy, love, and that He loves me enough to grow and stretch me to become the woman He desires me to be.

*Side note: I don't hate kids lol :) Really I don't! I just wanted to clarify that God has created me to be passionate about different things...and if I had the choice I'd probably rather hang out with adults haha! I love kids and think that parenting and discipling them is very important. But it doesn't come as easy to me as to others. Just wanted to clarify!

To the working woman- both inside and outside of the home

There are so many things that people seem to have an opinion about these days. Whether women work in or out of the home seems to be one of those things that no one can agree on. I came across a blog about that this morning and honestly....and I was heart-broken about it. It was clear that the post was written to "guilt" women into staying at home- even claiming that it is biblical to do so. That may or may not be the case (Scripture is not clear on that- at least that I have seen). But even so, my encouragement to those that have a somewhat fixated view of the woman's role is this:

God created man and woman equal in his eyes. Equal in how he loves them. Yes, we are created for different roles. God created man to do things woman cannot and vice versa. There is nothing wrong with that...at all. What he did not create was a "lesser" being. Not lesser...just different. When we view the two genders through that lens, it allows us to look at it from a different perspective.

You see, humanity has skewed the roles originally created by God. We've even taken scripture and twisted it to support our agendas. And then we've taken that into the Church and attacked other brothers and sisters in Christ under the umbrella of being "biblical". This blog was saying that it was wrong for women to work outside of the home. My response was this:

"I understand what you're saying but I feel like there needs to be a word of caution here. This is one of those "open-handed" issues that we need to be careful with. Scripture is not 100% clear here on that. And honestly, it's not something that adds or detracts from the gospel, so we need to be careful not to cause division or dissension here. All too often we take scripture, interpret it, and then go out on a mission with it. We should consider some things before we do that though: Does it bring glory to God? Does it point us to Christ? Does it build up His Church? Is it pertinent to the gospel? If any of these answers are no, then we need to reconsider our intentions. Whether women choose to stay home or to be in the workplace is a decision that is between them and God and their family. We cannot preach that it is "bad" to not be a homemaker. That does not point people to Christ and it definitely does not build up the church. Women have an incredible opportunity to be used by God both at home and in the work place. I happen to be a SAHM but know and respect a lot of women who are not. Again, arguing this point only brings division and detracts from Christ. Sometimes women don't have a choice...and saying something like this article does nothing but bring them down. That is not what Christ wants for His Church. We need to encourage one another and we need to pray and support those sisters that are out in the secular world front lines everyday- that they can be a light there! So thank you for your opinion, but I encourage you to just think through something like this before its posted next time :)We need to encourage and point each other to Christ first and foremost :)"

So let's remember this for any "issue" that may arise that is not pertinent to the core of the Gospel.

-Does it bring glory to God?
-Does it point us to Christ?
-Does it build up His Church?
-Is it pertinent to the Gospel message?

God calls us to different paths in life. He has a purpose for each of them. We need to focus on encouraging one another in these journeys- not pushing our own agendas. Maybe God has called you to be a homemaker, maybe He's called you into the work place. Wherever He has placed you, may you be open to be used for His glory! Be the light in your home and in your work place!

To the Weary Mama...

"To the weary mama..."

https://www.facebook.com/heather.m.olson.7/videos/10153556661865465/

Life can be lonely. Motherhood can be lonely. Even though you're surrounded by little people 24:7, you can still feel incredibly alone. But sweet mamas, let me tell you something. You're not alone! And you weren't meant to do this journey alone! Don't be afraid to reach out and share your struggles. There are people out there that have been in your shoes, that would love to help you, but aren't aware of your need. God gave us community for a reason! It does "take a village" and don't let the lies of the enemy tell you otherwise. We aren't meant to do life alone- no matter what stage you're in. It will help you to be a better mom when you slow others to invest in you and your children! Our culture tells us we should be able to "do it all" but that simply is not true. Lean into your tribe and remember that this difficult season is just that- a season.

Recent Revelation...

I began experimenting with Facebook Live :) This one was a recent revelation that I had. Hope you are encouraged!



https://www.facebook.com/heather.m.olson.7/videos/10154002679645465/

Truth beyond the Tinsel

Good December morning! This time of year has always had such a "magical" sensation to it. It intrigues me, that even still to this day, there is something different about this season in our culture. Why is that? Why does our focus change? Why are people more willing to give? Why, in general, are people more selfless during this holiday season?

Track with me for a minute as I unpack some thoughts floating around in my head :) The general consensus and motivation behind this holiday season is giving. We give gifts and focus on family and others this time of year. A lot of people would point it to the man behind the secular screen of the holidays- Santa Clause. He gives to those who are "nice". As children, we're indoctrinated that our behavior will affect how our Christmas turns out. I think, to some degree, that same line of thinking trickles into our adult view of Christmas. People are so quick to be politically correct these days and use "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". They want to remove any "religious" connotations to this season and simply put the focus on being kind to one another- being a modern day Santa (no religious strings attached). But allow me to enlighten you a little bit.

Where did Santa Clause originate? Do you know?

He wasn't always the jolly, big-bellied, white bearded giver of gifts that we see today. No. Over the years he has morphed into that. But the original "Santa", St. Nicholas, was a skinny, dark-bearded bishop that got his reputation from helping out a family with a dowry that they couldn't afford for their daughters. Over time, people have changed him into what he is today. The story of our modern day Santa is a far cry from the original one. Interesting. Even the motivation behind the character has changed. The original Santa loved God and gave because he saw a need- not because anyone had "earned" it. Our modern day Santa gives only to those who meet his standards of being "good". But yet people still look to him as the "savior" of this time of year- the motivation behind the actions.

Now let's compare that radically different story to the actual reason we celebrate this time of year. It's a story that is over 2000 years old (MUCH older than the story of Santa by the way) and has stayed consistently the same for that amount of time. Interesting. It's the story of the Creator of the world, humbling himself into human form to pay an enormous price- in order to rescue the creation that He loves so very much. He was FULLY God and FULLY man. He took on the most humbling form a human can have- a helpless baby. He lived and faced every type of struggle and hardship that a human can face. He spent his life teaching us how to live life the best way- the way it was created to be:

With Him.

He then, WILLINGLY took on the punishment that WE deserved and paid the price to bring us back to a union with Him for eternity. He paid that even for those He KNEW would reject it. Because He loves us all that much. Wow. Simply....astounding. And THAT story hasn't changed a lick since it happened.

Why?

I believe it's because it is absolute truth. Although the original "Santa" is a true story, he is not a savior. People are looking for a savior and therefore have morphed him over time into something he isn't. That can be said about a lot of different "characters" and people over time- changing to fit needs. But the ONE TRUE Savior hasn't changed since the beginning of time. He IS the answer for all of our needs and desires. All we have to do is surrender to Him. It's amazing that once you do, your desires fade and you are filled with His desires, peace, joy, and hope. It's absolutely transforming and the MOST precious and beautiful thing you will ever experience! So....where are you looking for truth? In a constantly-changing story of Santa? Or in the consistently same absolute truth of the Gospel?

Jesus really IS the answer to everything and the absolute reason to celebrate :)