Good morning Lord. Thank you for a new day, thank you for the opportunity to wake up safe and in my own bed. Lord I pray that you help me to overcome the spirit of condemnation and frustration that sits heavy upon me.

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The family has been away this week and for the most part its been a much welcomed break. Yesterday was kind of tough however, I’m not sure why it was so tough but I think a large part was because I was unable to be as productive as I would have liked. Work wasn’t flowing and specifically something that was usually my forte I was unable to accomplish up to standard. This for some reason really threw off my whole day. I grew despondent and my mind started racing.

I’m really know sure what to do on days like that – I’m guess I should have spent more time in the word and less time worrying and letting my mind lead me down these dark roads of frustration and self-blame. Regardless, I’m hoping that today I can turn the corner and focus much more on the positive and filling myself with God’s word and praise music and being patient enough to hear from God.

God did do something to reach out to me in the midst of my dark session of despair. I had actually ordered a study bible a couple of days ago and luckily it arrived today. As soon as it arrived – even in the midst of my pain, I flipped it open and it fell to a particular passage about Elijah after he had fled from jezebel.

And he ^[d]was afraid, and got up and ran for his ^[e]life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my ^[f]life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵ Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” ⁶ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” ⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

-1 Kings 19:3-8

This was super helpful because one of the main points from this passage for me is that sometimes the most impactful thing we can do is eat, and sleep and rest before we continue. And to be honest, my sleep pattern had been really terrible over the last couple of days. I had been waking up really early but going to bed really late in an effor to accomplish everything that I think I needed to while the family was awake. Perhaps yesterday was my body’s way of reclaiming its time.

Anyway- Diving into the book that I’m reading this week with bible study: “Kingdom Man” by Tony Evans.

One of the quotes from this section is:

“With everything in motion, one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is stability”

-Tony Evans, Kingdom Man

Explaining further Tony says: “No matter what else is happening in the world, the children of a kingdom man can be confident of having stability at home. That stability fuels them to take on the world in flux around them. Establishing this kind of stability isn’t that difficult… Most of all you do it by simply being there – fully present, not just in body but in mind and heart too.”

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Lord, I pray that you help me to be able to raise a Godly focused family. Help me. Guide me. Grow me. Help me not to crumble under the weight of responsibility but to trust that you are able to do what is impossible for man. Get rid of the obstacle to you in our family and allow us to make room to hear your voice and will for our family.

Fly or Fall,

OFO