legacy – Page 6 – The Bless Your Heart Blog

Oh Momma

Thank you, Lord, for entrusting these sweet little miracles to me. YOU made me a momma and for that, I’m forever grateful…

Thank you, handsome, for choosing me so long ago (and every day since) to be your wife and the mother of your children. I absolutely love our life.

Thank you, sweet munchkins, for letting me smother you in kisses and dote on you and show you off – I’m so very proud of you, ya know?! Thank you for sharing your days with me and for teaching me so much about the Lord; I could never have imagined His great love for us until I had you.

Just being a mother is the best gift I could receive today, though you have showered me with so much more. It’s an honorable, notable job which I am privileged to hold.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommas out there!

…to those of you who’ve prayed to join the ranks, I stand with you in prayer that the Lord would open your womb…and soon!

…to those mommas who have lost little loves far too soon, my heart aches for you, especially today. I pray the Lord showers your day with extra helpings of grace. More so, I pray that you have an intimate relationship with Him so that you may be reunited with those sweeties one day…

…to those of you who are struggling in relationship with your mother, my heart aches for you, too. Relationships are messy and satan comes to kill, steal and destroy them. I’m praying for humility, renewal and forgiveness for both sides…

…and to the special moms, sisters, grandmas, great-grands, aunts and cousins in my life, both of blood and spirit, who have mothered me, mentored me and loved me, I pray that you are remembered near, far and forever for your loving sacrifices. You have my heart…

People Trump Tasks

I don’t have to be tomorrow, who I am today.

The Lord has given us the freedom of choice so I can choose to be different or act different or think different anytime I, well, choose. We have the opportunity to change our futures and to do things differently than the generations before us…for me, that’s a big deal.

The Lord has been saving me from a life of mediocrity for about twelve years and counting. He has soooo much more for us than just surviving, ya know? I have chosen to raise my children differently than I was raised and to have a marriage that’s different than what I witnessed growing up and to base the foundation of my being on Jesus and nothing else.

Those are some of the biggies and they are all things that have come easily for me. I love being a wife and a mom and it doesn’t feel like work to attempt the things He asks in those areas with excellence. There are, however, so many more things that the Lord keeps bringing to my attention that He desires for me…things that I know won’t be easy (for me) but things my heart is longing to attempt.

I want to be more about people and less about tasks. I’m sure to some of you, that sounds easy. For a type A, black-and-white, meticulous planner? Not so much. I’m wired in a way where the to-do list trumps all and being prepared for anything and everything is my mantra. My mind is always looking ahead…what do I need to pack or get ready? What’s next on the agenda? What might cause a problem/throw a wrench in our plans or our peace? How do we avoid that problem? What do I need to do now to make things easier later?

Honestly, those things are constantly on my mind and it’s not even exhausting! Dare I say it’s sort of enriching for me? (You’re worried about me, aren’t you?) Don’t be…about that anyways. 😉

Sadly, things like stopping to talk to people for extended periods of time or jumping in to lend a helping hand or investing in something other than wifedom/motherhood doesn’t always make the cut. To an extent, that’s ok; my family IS my priority, but I know myself enough to know that those priorities aren’t always the reason for my lack of engagement. I’m an introvert and a doer and that doesn’t leave a lot of room for people.

Jesus was a people person. He was a doer, yes, but He cared infinitely more about hearts and souls than He did any physical deficiency or any task that warranted His attention. I’m married to a people person who comes from a line of people persons and they are leaving a legacy of the fear of the Lord because of the time they take to sincerely invest in people. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.

When I think back on all the times in my life that I was affected in the deepest ways for Christ, it wasn’t by someone who worked their tail off at a task…it was by someone who took the time to invest in me.

Oh man, I wanna be like that! It’s not something that’s going to come easy for me; it’s going to be something that takes work (I should like that then, yes? Ha!)…something that will require a new mindset and array of habits…but the reward is great and the consequences of not changing are greater yet.

I don’t know what this looks like for sure yet and I’m sure I’ll be stumbling through it for a while…or forever…but I’m determined to make attempts towards that goal. Thankfully, I have that choice and thankfully I have a Father that I know will reward my efforts to be more like Him.

****** People trump tasks. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. *******

Goo Goo

Oooooooohhhhhhh, this lady…

She is so special to us. We’re all a blubbering mess around here. She left to go back home today and none of us were quite ready to see that happen. Our week together just went so darn fast. Why does it happen like that?

We are so blessed by her unending love and encouragement for us. She loves her kids and grandkids and great-grandkids more than any person I’ve ever met. She never has anything but kind words to say about any of us; she is truly a speaker of life.

She is in constant communication with the Father and she intercedes for her family with fervor! I have no doubt that our names are on her lips every. single. day.

She’s a really easy house guest! She’s always ready and willing to pitch in…I probably should’ve let her more. I did let her whip us up some mashed potatoes last night – definitely one of her specialties!

Goo Goo, we sure do love you! You honor us so well and I pray we return the favor in at least the slightest! Thank you for loving us and praying for us and for conforming to our whacky schedules and kid rules. 🙂 Thank you for wanting only the best for us and continuing to press in even if we bristle up or poo-poo some of your concerns; we know your heart and it has nothing but love for us. We have yet to know anyone else like you, and that’s really a shame…because the world could sure use more Goo Goo’s…

Until Next Year, Cubbie Bear

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

I am a lover of Jesus and believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. It is completely whole, lacking nothing, and it is the foundation for which my family and I base our life and make decisions. As followers of Christ, we have chosen to stake our lives and our futures on the fact that we believe in Him and His word and we receive His gift of salvation…not because of anything we’ve done (or will do) but because of His graciousness.

In so doing, I’m also in love with His Word (which is also Him). A Bible teacher once told us that “time IN the word was time WITH the Word.” It’s timeless and true and it’s pages overflow with the love and wisdom and grace and mercy and justice of Jesus.

Sawyer loves to “read” her Bible and it delights my soul! She’ll sit and repeat stories and lessons she knows to me or Wryder or to herself. Sometimes they get a little discombobulated but that’s ok…I have no doubt that the Lord is delighted with her love for His word.

We’re big fans of the Awana programs and Sawyer’s been a member of Cubbies this year. Last night, she had her Cubbies award ceremony and it was so heartwarming to see so many kids who have taken the time to go through these programs and hide the Lord’s word in their hearts. Some of these kids come from non-Christian homes and some from homes where parents don’t have the most intimate relationship with the Lord, yet they work to memorize Scripture together. It’s a beautiful thing…

These leaders and teachers take time every week to help these kiddos grow in their relationships with the Lord by helping them learn Scripture and apply it to their lives.

With her leader, Ms. Rochelle... — With her leader, Ms. Rochelle…

Goo Goo is definitely leaving a legacy of the fear of the Lord with her family... — With Goo Goo, who is definitely leaving a legacy of the fear of the Lord with her family…

Cubbies has been a huge blessing to our family and I pray that if you are in area that has an Awana club that you would sign your children up!

One last hug until next year... — One last hug until next year…

Sweet Sawyer, I pray your love for the Word and your love for Jesus never waiver…that your thirst for His truth would never be quenched. I am so incredibly proud of all you’ve accomplished and learned this year. You inspire me to dig deeper and memorize more. I love you, sweet pea!

Easter Advent: Sunday

He is RISEN, friends! He carried our sin and our shame and our death to the cross and the grave and it is no more! He is so worthy of our love and our allegiance. I pray you have had a blessed Easter Sunday worshiping our Savior together!

Easter Advent: Tuesday

For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.

That was the first Bible verse Sawyer ever learned (and before she was two years old, to boot).

Humble Servant

As Jesus and His disciples met in the upper room before the Passover Feast, He put that service into action. Knowing His time was near, He got up and performed a job that was usually done by the lowliest of servants…He washed the disciples’ feet.

My sister/friend Tredessa and I have given free pedicures to some of inner city Denver’s inhabitants as part of a city-wide outreach and it was a pretty humbling, and sometimes uncomfortable, experience. Feet aren’t always the prettiest, neatest, cleanest parts of God’s creation. Can you imagine the feet of the disciples?? They couldn’t have been any better, yet Jesus washed them and dried them and showed them great care…and His actions ran deeper than just His physical touch. He knew they needed to be washed clean in their hearts.

Through this selfless act of service, Jesus set an example for us to follow. The King of Kings acted as the lowest of low and asks us to do the same.

Read: John 13:1-17

Watch: Jesus washes the disciples’ feet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmtAMUuFfkk

Do: Wash each others’ feet!

— Get a small pan of water and take turn serving each other by washing each others’ feet. Talk about how Jesus did this very thing and think of ways that your family can humbly serve others.

Pray: Lord, teach us to be more like you. Let us be sensitive to ways that we can serve others every day.

**Sidenote**

My favorite part of this whole exchange is when Peter all but refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet.

John, 13:6 starts: He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

And so Peter answers, “Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and head as well.”

In that moment, he got it. If this is what it takes to be a part of You then I submit all of me to you; not just what you’re asking…all of me. So beautiful. Lord, I wanna live a life like this…

Easter Advent: Monday

**If you missed yesterday, do not fret! Either backtrack and do two lessons today or just pick up here!**

Extravagant Love

Love makes us do rash things sometimes, doesn’t it?? Wrex and I stayed up waaaaaaaay too late last night visiting and as we discussed it this morning he said, “We’ve have had the problem since the day we met, haven’t we?” (Insert big, cheesey grin here.) It’s a true statement. During the beginnings of our relationship, we’d spend time together until the dorms closed and then we’d talk on the phone to each other well into the morning…morning as in, time to go to class. We were just so enamored with each other and we threw caution to the wind when it came to logic/rest/responsibilities the next day. The same could be said of Mary of Bethany…

In the days that followed, Jesus went about His teachings. While in Bethany, Mary got a wild hair and anointed the feet of Jesus. She took an expensive perfume, broke open the jar, poured it on His feet and wiped them with her hair. Can you even imagine?! What a incredible, and somewhat crazy, gesture!

Those around them grew angry that she would waste something so expensive; they thought she should’ve sold it and given the money to the poor. Jesus came to her defense and told them what a beautiful thing she had done. Her actions remind us that following Jesus sometimes means throwing caution to the wind in overwhelming outpourings of love and compassion – extravagant, extreme love.

Read: Mark 14:1-10 John 12:1-11

Watch and Do: Worship the Lord

— Show Him love by taking time to worship Him with song and dance! Take the time to prepare your hearts and rid the room of distractions…clear 15 minutes of your schedule JUST to praise Him. (For moms, that IS extravagant, yes?!)

We chose to worship to Hosanna, Jesus is Alive, and Amazing Grace.

Pray: Lord, we love you! Help us to love you extravagantly and without caution – You are so deserving of that kind of love because that’s how You love us.

Financial Freedom

Ok, so if I thought yesterday was a big day at the Phipps house, I was completely and utterly wrong. Today’s events have been much, much more significant. Are you ready for it??

Outside of our home loan, we are 100% DEBT FREE.

That is something to celebrate, people!!! I’m going to get pretty personal with numbers here…and I feel no inhibition in doing so. This has ALL happened at the hand of the Lord so to Him, we give every ounce of credit and glory!

When Wrex and I got married, we had a little over $100,000 in debt between the two of us. Yes, you read that correctly. $100,000. YIKES. (That honestly makes my stomach quiver now…)

How did we have that much, you ask? Well….

We both had vehicles that we were still paying on…
He had bought a trailer house to live in during senior college, that promptly lost over half of it’s value once it turned 10 years old…
We both had student loans…some of which were for out of state tuition, which isn’t cheap…
We both had credit cards that had been used frivolously and whose balances were at their max…
We had signed up for a buyer’s club of sorts that was designed to rob young adults of membership money under the guise of savings lots of said money as they made big purchasing decisions…basically, an incredibly unwise decision…
We were simply living beyond our means…and had been for a few years…

I distinctly remember our breaking point…and it was ugly. It came on the heels of a bad weekend anyways and it only got worse. Long story short, Saturday night we ran to McDonald’s to get a quick supper, only to have our card declined. Yeah. It was that bad. We couldn’t even afford to eat off of the dollar menu. We. Were. Broke. And? Wrex still had to get to work Monday morning with a diesel truck that was sitting on E.

The Lord provided even in the midst of all of that reckless living. I had won employee of the month at my job for the past two months and had been rewarded with “Downtown Dollars” – money that could be spent at any downtown business. Thankfully, there was a Safeway grocery store downtown and we purchased gift cards with my “Downtown Dollars” and took those to a different Safeway that had fuel. It wasn’t a very fun weekend.

It was, however, the turning point in our financial situation. Wrexy had lots of windshield time between driving to work and driving the tractor, so he had been listening to Dave Ramsey quite faithfully. (He’d been listening to Dr. Laura, too, but that’s another gag-inducing story). He had come home several times telling me about the “debt snowball” and he thought we could do it, or should at least try. I was quite hesitant because our situation just seemed plain hopeless to me. I hadn’t even been tithing regularly because “we couldn’t afford it.” (I remember conveniently leaving the checkbook at home on multiple occasions because the thought of handing over even more of our paycheck was terrifying).

After a lot of Scripture reading and a lot of pushing from Wrexy, we decided to do it. What did we have to lose at this point?? I remember sitting in the pickup and listening with him one day. On Fridays, people get to call in and tell about how they got debt free and they get to scream, “We’re debt freeeeeeeeeeee!” I bawled at all of them because it seemed like such a wonderful goal…but one that was so far away…

To get started, we sold his old gooseneck trailer for $800 and paid off one of our smaller credit cards and then the snowball started. We reigned in our spending and eating out and started tithing regularly…and it felt GOOD.

We moved soon after we started this process and the people he was working for provided our housing and utilities as part of his pay. With this new situation, we opted for living off of my paycheck and paying off debt with his.

The Lord was soooooo faithful during this process! Some things were cake to pay off and others felt like we were working for years…and we were. We were dealing with the consequences of years of irresponsible living. It hurt to think of all of the things that the money we were paying out towards debt could’ve been used for…

We took a break from our debt snowball when I was pregnant with Sawyer. We only had Wrex’s largest student loan left and we went back to paying minimum payments for a number of reasons. We had private health insurance and at the time, since we had gained enough financial freedom for me to quit my job and start the journey as a stay at home mom. The state of Colorado didn’t require private insurers to cover maternity claims, so ours did not. We knew a $10,000 – $20,000 hospital bill would soon be staring us in the face in a few short months. (The Lord TOTALLY provided but that’s another story for another day. Are you seeing a theme here??)

Soon after, Wrex left his job in an obedient leap of faith and we were soon jobless and homeless so the minimum payments continued. Then, we found a job, found a house, made lots of improvements, had another baby and never really finished….until today.

The Phipps’ are DEBT FREE. And? You better bet your bottom dollar we’re calling big Dave on Friday!

I’m not sure I can fully express the freedom that comes from owing no one. The Bible talks consistently about the borrower being slave to the lender and it is so true. When you are strapped for cash and saddled in debt, you can’t do the things that the Lord calls His people to do! We love to give, and give abundantly, but when the money’s not there because you owe so many people, you can’t do that. You can’t stash away for emergencies…you can’t bless people on a whim…you can’t afford a car breakdown or birthday gift or a broken leg…you just can’t.

But when all of those unnecessary expenses are gone and you budget and live within your means, you’re able to save for the future and you’re able to give in abundance and you’re not blindsided by unexpected expenses. Your whole lifestyle changes! Your thoughts shift from your bank account and “how in the world am I gonna pay for that??” to “what is the Lord asking me to do with this excess now?” Financial issues are one of the top five reasons for divorce but when there is financial security, there is FREEDOM. You don’t have to think about money all of the time…you can think about each other.

The benefits to being debt free far outweigh the sacrifices you have to make to get there. Of course there were times when we just wanted to throw in the towel and call it good enough and just go buy a new car or go on vacation…but we knew we didn’t want to go back to living like we were that fateful Saturday at McDonalds.

The Lord’s heart for His people is FREEDOM…and that includes financial freedom. He took our measly efforts and our $800 trailer check and helped us blow the door wide open on our debt.

I’m so thankful for my husband’s obedience, yet again. Getting out of debt has changed our family forever – we don’t even own a single credit card – and we are MORE THAN FINE WITHOUT THEM.

I say all of this one, to brag on the Lord. It is only by His hand and His provision and His prompting that we are here and two, to encourage you! If you have a mountain of debt and it feels insurmountable, may I just say that IT IS NOT. We have unburied ourselves from over $100,000 in a little over seven years (thanks to that two year sabbatical). It can be done.

If you have questions or want to know more or want help with a budget or a plan, call me, message me, track me down – we are more than willing to help! Financially free IS the only way to live…

Next goal? Ten year house payoff – ow ow!

Now show us some debt-free love, would ya!? WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

The Lucky One

Happy St. Patty’s Day from two of the cutest little leprechauns I know!

I feel so “lucky” to be their momma. During our naptime prayers, I thanked the Lord for the desire that He placed in my heart to stay at home full-time with my kiddos…and I thanked Him for allowing me to be a momma. Even on the hardest of days (and today has NOT been easy), I wouldn’t trade this “job” for anything else on the planet.

I’m the lucky one…even though I’m not wearing green.

How in the World Did We Get Here: Part 1

Our little, ole farm house is all tucked snuggly under a blanket of snow this morning as fresh flakes are starting to fall again. Let it be known that I don’t mind that one bit. In my book, if it’s gonna be cold it might as well snow.

Not a creature was stirring... — Not a creature was stirring…

We’ve lived here two and a half years although it doesn’t feel near that long. Earlier this morning, I was reflecting on how exactly we got here. It was all Him, friends.

Wrex worked for a family company in Denver that had their fingers (successfully) in quite a few niches; ear tags, farming, purebred cattle, show goats, horses. He had an active role in each of those endeavors and thus worked A LOT. The situation wasn’t ideal and became less so after Sawyer was born. A lot of mornings, Wrexy left before she was awake and came home after she was in bed and that was definitely not how we wanted to raise our family. It would’ve been different if it was our land or our cattle or our company and we were investing this time and energy into something for our future generations, but that wasn’t the case.

So after lots of intense prayer and discussion, we knew that the Lord was calling us away from there. On his 29th birthday, he gave his one month notice and we stepped out in faith…no job lined up, no place to live (as we were living in company supplied housing), no idea where to go…we just knew that working there was no longer obedience, but that stepping away was.

We spent our evenings together praying and job hunting and packing. Our house was nothing fancy but we had made a lot of special memories there. It was the place we celebrated our first five anniversaries…the place we brought our first baby home to…the place where we hosted friends who became our roommates for a season…the place where we threw card parties and goat dehorning work days and family get togethers. Even though we knew that our leaving was the right thing to do and that it was what the Lord was asking of us, it still stung a little. Obedience isn’t always easy…

W spent his days tying up as many loose ends as possible. By the end of the month, the contents of our home were moved into a storage container and we? We were jobless and homeless…but not hopeless.

The job part never really concerned me for several reasons. One, I knew that we were walking in obedience so I had no doubt that the Lord had something lined up for us; He wouldn’t call us away and then hang us out to dry. Two, Wrexy has more skills in more different areas than any person I’ve ever met. I often tell him that he’s handicapped me as a do-er. If something breaks or isn’t quite right or needs a little finesse, I don’t even try anymore – I just wait for him to get home because he’ll fix it in a jiffy and in a way better manner than I ever could. Plus, he’s the most loyal, hardest working, social genius on the planet. And three, I knew that if he had to, he would work two jobs slopping hogs or serving french fries before we ever went hungry. Before we ever left, he was offered two different jobs, but neither of them had the stamp of the Lord and as hard as it was to say ‘no’ to them, knowing that if we said yes we could stay in the same area, ‘no’ was what we said.

During that first week of our new found homelessness, some of our favorite friends were on vacation and they allowed us to stay in their home. This was such a huge blessing to us as we finished taking care of last minute business things and fully getting a plan in place for what was next.

We spent a lot of time in the quiet together that week. It’s a weird feeling, especially for a type A planner to not have a plan…but to know that THE plan was to be obedient to the Lord. There is blessing in obedience – I’ve experienced that richly! I’ve also experienced the consequences of disobedience and I didn’t want to venture there again.

We prayed continually that the Lord would make our schedule for us and that He would provide us with the job that Wrex needed to say ‘yes’ to…wherever that may be. We knew that He knew our hearts in wanting more family time and He knew our hearts in wanting Wrex to have a job that was rooted in agriculture; a job that wouldn’t find him stuck behind a desk and a job that he enjoyed. This whole process had happened so fast and was so outside of ourselves that we had no other option but to have hope; confident expectancy in the goodness of God.

As the week was coming to a close, we made plans to visit my family in several parts of Texas and then Wrex’s sister and grandma in Oklahoma and Kansas before heading back to Colorado to finish out a ministry event we were a part of. We had cleaned up behind ourselves and packed what we needed for a few weeks on the road with a 10 month old, when Wrex got a call that we needed to stop at the tip-top of Texas before we ventured further south; a meat packing plant wanted to meet him and see if he was a fit for their company. Maybe, just maybe, this was it?