I am happy to introduce you to my new friend who makes me smile. I appreciate her honesty and fun loving spirit.  Her words in this post fill my heart with joy. Her commitment to the Lord is very obvious as she shares her story with us today.  Christy Pearce is a wife, stay at home Mommy of 3, writer and speaker. Her passion is to proclaim God’s truth and make Jesus known! While Christy admits that she is far from perfect, she desires that Christ would be preeminent in all she says (writes) and does. Her blog, “Faith Like Dirty Diapers,” was born out of God using every day events—even a diaper change—to strengthen her with words of life.
Christy would love to connect with you!
Website: faithlikedirtydiapers.com
Facebook: Faith Like Dirty Diapers—God Speaks in Everything, Even a Diaper Change
Twitter: @christylouhoo
Ministry Team Member at Ask God Today

 4 Stabilizers in Our Ritual of Erratic Routine

Well, don’t try to set your watch by our schedule.

We are all over the place, I tell you. It is straight up crazy around here.

We are a family of 5 going 10 different directions, looking for the keys, a lost shoe (and some lost sanity), all at the last minute.

Our family life pattern is summed up in one word:

ERRATIC.

Finding a Rhythm Feels Impossible

It isn’t that I don’t want my kids to have stability in our schedule, it’s just that it isn’t possible. Or at least it feels that way.

My husband is a Pastor. That means lots of nights when we share Daddy with our brothers and sisters in need. It also means late gatherings at our house one or two times a week.

I am also a writer. That means several hours a week with Mommy’s face glued to a tablet.

I have a 10 year old and a 5 year old in a school where they like a lot of parent involvement. (And truth be told, I do not do as much as many parents.)

I have a 3 year old. He has his own universe. We are mostly trying to find him and welcome him to planet earth.

Between homework, housework, chores, meals, spill, thrills and chills (and a pug) it feels like we live in an utter state of chaos. I really think I would lose it if weren’t for one thing—

I can count on God to be my stable arm in my crazy instability.

Colossians 1:17 says this, “…he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

He Holds It Together When It Feels Like It’s Falling Apart

God made everything and He desires to be “preeminent” in all things.

I think that’s fair enough, seeing as how everything around us—including us—belongs to Him. He desires that we prioritize Him above all else.

I find when I am obedient in this, that I can make it through.

But how do you do that when life is so crazy?

To crown Jesus as king and Savior of our lives, we need to be pursuing what He wants. But how do we have any clue what that is if we don’t seek Him in His word?

My time of study, reflection and meditating on—ruminating on—God’s word is the best ritual, the best habit I have in my “un-habitual” life!

Here are four ways God’s Word stabilizes our family when our routine is so busy and erratic:

1. The Word of God is what grounds all of us— Christ is our foundation, and we need His words. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24, (ESV)
2. The Word of God helps us get our priorities right— God rightfully owns first place and first consideration in all we do, observe: Colossians 1:17-18 “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”(ESV)
3. The Word of God helps us know Him—Meeting Jesus through the living word helps me know what steps to take as I try to follow in His steps. 1 John 2:4-6 says this, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, ⁵ but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ⁶ whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
4. The Word of God equips us to share the Gospel—Our heart’s desire is to share the gospel with those around us. 2 Corinthians 4:13 ^“Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak…”

So the best ritual or routine of our family is one with eternal significance and stability.

Even when things are crazy beyond reason, gleaning truth from God’s Word is the mainstay of our erratic routine.

Please join us Thursday for our last story from Family Rituals Series

Links to all four stories in this series

https://communitymoms.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/family-rituals-day-1-for-series/

https://communitymoms.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/story-2-from-family-rituals-series/

https://communitymoms.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/story-3-from-family-rituals-series/

https://communitymoms.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/story-4-of-4-from-family-rituals-series/