Journey to the Cross

If you are looking for a way to draw your children into the arms of Jesus this Easter, here is a 12-day devotional for you. It begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation, showing how the cross is everywhere in the Bible. The cross is not just something we celebrate and remember merely at Easter, but rather it is the very essence of life.

I pray that both you and your kids will be captivated by God's story and his relentless pursuit of your hearts. And as you journey to the cross, may the eyes of your hearts be opened to this glorious God who desperately wants to dwell with his people.

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Blessings,
Melissa

The Choice

The alarm goes off way too early. I groggily set the snooze button again, all of my aspirations to get up early slinking away with my dreams. The pitter patter resonating through the walls tells me that six little feet are already up and running around. Hungry bellies call. A fight erupts as someone accuses someone else of another heinous crime. Stealing. Lying. Hitting. Looking. It could be any one of these atrocities. The looking at each other is one that seems to create the most havoc. Her plea for justice will assail me as soon as I enter the kitchen. Yet for some reason, my verdict is never good enough. Not being fair is one of my most recognized attributes. I sigh, looking at the clock to see how many more hours until bed time. Only twelve. I can do this.

I open the curtains, and my heart sinks at the sight of the street cloaked in a shroud of white. So much for getting all that energy out at the park. The drudge of winter settles deeper in my heart with every snowflake that falls. What I wouldn’t give for a beach right now. What I wouldn’t give for a margarita. Wait…should I be thinking about margaritas at 7 am?

The kitchen greets me with three precious smiles and one giant mess. Cheerios blanket the floor. Milk lines the table. The voice in the back of my mind tells me that a good mom would have woken up earlier. A good mom would have made them oatmeal, bright eyed and smiling, with devotions for their hearts and fresh squeezed juice for their brains. But all I can see is that mess, which gives me one more thing to do on this snowy, dreary, same as every other, day.

My tea brews as the wind howls, its grip threatening to rip the house apart. Another fight erupts. This time the victim takes it upon herself to hand out justice. A good kick to the back ought to do it, she decides. I grip the counter and bite my tongue. How many more hours?

Sometimes Curious George is a really good babysitter. He’s free and he doesn’t ask any questions.

I crawl back to bed while George takes over downstairs.

The day looms before me. Oh, if only summer was here. If only they were all in school. If only my husband didn’t travel. If only we had a bigger house. If only we had more money so we could go somewhere warm—right now. If only I was a better mom. If only God had given me what I wanted. If only…….the list is quite lengthy.

That’s when I remember. That’s when the gentle voice of Truth beckons me yet again.

“Come to ME, and I will give you REST!”

Oh, how easily I forget. Oh, IF ONLY He was the first place I ran.

I’m reading through Psalms. Probably not a coincidence that this is the verse I read today.

The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe His promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord. Psalm 106:24-25

Oh, the tenderness of my Savior, wrapping this message up so sweetly for me—on this day—in His word!

They refused to enter the pleasant land! It was a choice, and they politely declined.

In Joshua 1:13, Joshua tells the people about this pleasant land that their fathers chose not to enter. He says, “The Lord your God is giving you a place of REST. He has given you this land.”

The Promised Land isn’t a place free from trouble or hardship.  It isn’t a new job, house, or situation. After all, the land flowing with milk and honey is bound to have some spilled milk in it, don’t you think? The Promised Land isn’t a place we arrive when everything in life finally falls into place and we get everything we want.  The Promised Land is REST.

Rest is a choice. It’s not dependent on my circumstances. It’s not dependent on the weather. Or if my life is turning out the way I thought it would.

REST is the place we come when we actually believe that God is for us and trust in His promise to care for us, regardless of the chaos around us.

I close my Bible, relish in my Savior’s Presence, and start the day again. George is relieved from his duties, and I see the mess downstairs through new eyes. The kids still fight. My disappointments still remain. The wind still howls. The snow still falls. My husband is still out of town.

But I have a choice today. For the next twelve hours, I can grumble in my tent, or I can enter the pleasant land. I choose REST!

Which will you choose?