Have you heard about the FREE Blended and Blessed Event?

Hello fellow stepmoms!

I am so excited to tell you about a unique event coming THIS WEEKEND that you can live stream from your home. For the past three years, my husband and I have been volunteers with a ministry called FamilyLife. You may have heard of their amazing WeekendToRemember marriage seminars. This ministry is not one to shy away from the complexity of divorce, remarriage and blended families. That’s why I’m so excited to tell you more about this free event specifically designed for the Blended Family, called Blended & Blessed. I’ve got more information about the event below and I do hope you’ll join me this Saturday. To register for a livestream code, see viewing details or find someone hosting the event in your area visit: http://bit.ly/2jpMSTf

What: Blended & Blessed Livestream Conference

When: Saturday, April 29, 2017 8:30-4:00 PM CST *you can start later and pause the stream*

Where: To find locations near you streaming the event Click HERE! 

Here’s some information directly from FamilyLife’s website:

Blended & Blessed™ is a FREE one-day live event and livestream for stepfamily couples, single parents, dating couples with kids, and those who care about blended families.

Join hundreds of sites around the globe as we unpack five keys that are crucial to healthy stepfamily marriages. With some of today’s most trusted and respected experts, Blended & Blessed will challenge, inspire, and encourage you.

You can sign up today to host the Blended & Blessed livestream in your church or your community, or find a location near you to attend. You can even host an event in your home with your small group or friends, bringing together couples for one incredible day of teaching, music, and humor! Did we mention it’s FREE!

Let’s Talk About Being Married

Yesterday my husband and I had an 18 hour car drive from Nashville, TN to Denver, CO. I absolutely love our time in the car, because it seems like we always have our best conversations there. We talked a lot about some of the emails and comments you all leave here on the blog and it stirred my heart to do a short series on what married life looks like in a blended family. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing some of my biggest struggles being a second wife and stepmom AND (here’s my favorite part) my husband has agreed to share some of his struggles as a divorced and remarried dad. I am so excited about this series because I truly believe that marriages in blended families have more than the typical husband/wife struggles and if I’m honest, I’m really excited about hearing my husband talk about his FEELINGS!!!  In a blended marriage you have two people experiencing family life in compltely different ways and when communication breaks down it is a recipe for disaster. If you would like to join in this conversation, share some of your own stories, or have specific questions for me or my husband, please email me directly at christianstepmom@gmail.com!

In the meantime,  I want to share a series of sermons from one of my favorite pastors to listen to, Andy Stanley. My husband and I listened to his “Staying in Love” series during our drive yesterday and I would encourage you to listen and/or watch these episodes as they are a great resource. Here is a link to the first episode: Love Is a Verb. You can also listen to these via itunes or the YourMove app on your smartphone!

Praying for you and can’t wait to walk more of this journey with you!

Stones of Remembrance

Over the last few months, I have had two people encourage me on different occasions to always keep “stones of remembrance” through both joyous seasons and trials. One person who told me this was my dearest girlfriend who, despite experiencing the intense heartache of losing a child, always has a smile on her face and peace in her heart and time for coffee with me when I’m at my worst!  The other person who advised me to keep a physical record of what the Lord has done in my life was my pastor. Different people, different backgrounds, different occasions, but still the same advice.

Earlier this week, I began seeking out what the Lord had to say about these so called stones of remembrance and found myself studying the book of Joshua – particularly the 4th chapter. In this chapter Joshua has come to cross the Jordan river with the ark of the covenant in tow. Generations earlier, the Israelites along with Moses saw the Red Sea parted so that they could pass easily across it in their time of need, but this time the Lord commands Joshua to have his men step into the water, which is quite high, and He will provide a way for them to pass. The Lord, not one to break promises, causes a miraculous drying of the river instantly and the water does not return until the last Israelite and the ark of the covenant has crossed to the other side. The Lord commands Joshua to take stones from the dry riverbed and erect a memorial in Gilgal so that fathers can tell the future generations what miraculous things happened in that place due to the faithfulness of the Lord.

As I started researching more about this passage, I found myself hearing a similar message about these stones. J. Vernon McGee said in his sermon about Joshua 4 that, “…the business of parents is to give their children the gospel.” Over and over as I studied different pastors and commentaries, I found this same thought echoed. Stones of remembrance are not only for the ones who experience the mighty hand of God working in their lives, but are also a memorial to be used a teaching tool for younger generations.

The past year and a half we have had many moments that should have been memorialized but we breezed right past them and unless you’re looking through my facebook feed backwards, it might seem like it never even happened because the ordinary mundane tasks of life have a way of overshadowing the miraculous somehow. My two stepsons, who did not grow up in church or reading the bible both gave their life to Christ this last year. My oldest stepson, who has been the most adamant about hating church and God, served for the first time on our worship team last Sunday. On our mantel sits a framed bible verse our kids gave us for Christmas last year – it was the first scripture they had memorized. So much has changed (besides being taller than me now) since I came into these young boys (now young men) lives 6 years ago, and yet, I forget to truly set up a stones of remembrance- not just for me or my husband to look on during the hard days of our second trip through adolescence and highschool, but also for the kids to look back on when they are older and may be questioning their faith or need help remembering why they believe what they say they believe even though they face persecution.

Our society actually focuses on esteeming every single event in our lives so much that I think we actually lessen the impact of a true memorial. For instance, we post pictures of our food or our daily adventures on facebook or Instagram and share them with anyone and everyone.  We buy cheap souvenirs from expensive vacations to remember our time away.  We take pictures of every accomplishment our kids achieve, save every outgrown article of school spirit-wear, purchase every DVD of every concert, but can still fail to hide in our hearts the more impactful moments – like the first time you hear your child pray or tell you they KNOW God is speaking to them. Don’t get me wrong, we should actively engage in the activities our kids are a part of, but those accomplishments should pale in comparison to the way we esteem the active hand of God working in their lives if we want to raise men and women who can change the world through the power of Christ that resides in them.

I want to challenge you as I challenge myself to set up stones of remembrance for your children (biological or blended) and their walk with Christ – not just for them but also for you. It is so easy to miss big changes when we see someone day after day. Keep a journal of things they tell you, wear a necklace with birthstones of the month they were baptized, pray with them, but more than anything, help them to remember where they came from (even if they are not saved right now). Obviously, I was not around for the physical birth of my two stepsons (that would be weird, huh?), but I was fortunate enough to be the first one each of them confessed their acceptance of Christ to. I am human. I get frustrated with my blended family and the unique struggles that being a stepmom brings, however I can look back on this path and KNOW that the Lord has been working and will continue to work and I am certain that setting up a special remembrance for the sweet times only further helps us through the difficult ones and helps us see the faithfulness and trustworthiness of the Lord.

²⁰ And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹ He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea^[b] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” Joshua 4:20-24 NIV

Let’s Go Mountainclimbing

Over the last few weeks I have been praying about what to share on the Christian Stepmom blog. We’re in such a great season with my stepsons lately – they are turning into fine young men and we’re experiencing all the joys and struggles that high school brings. It has been somewhat surreal to watch them grow and change, it seems like just yesterday I was helping with basic math problems and fighting our way through vegetables, but the seasons have changed. I find myself having more and more actual conversations with the boys and can’t believe our oldest will be a senior next year. I say all of this, because I realize so much of what I have blogged about here has been focused on the struggles of the blended family life. I have used our challenges to spur conversation on the site and have been somewhat at a loss for words when it comes to peaceful times, but in that I have found a season of resting in the Lord and my walk with Him is constantly changing.

Today, as I was driving, a sermon came on the radio by Dr. Adrian Rogers. During his lifetime, Dr. Rogers was a well-known evangelistic southern Baptist preacher from the state of TN. I grew up in a southern Bapstist church, but normally, I can only take the passionate preaching for a few minutes before I’m shaking my head and saying, “Shhh…you don’t have to be so loud”, but today the message completely struck a chord with my heart and I was so mesmerized at the timeliness of Dr. Rogers words that the zeal of his preaching resonated with me, and I knew I wanted to share the message with you here. During his sermon titled, Give Me this Mountain, Dr. Rogers takes us through the passage of Joshua 14: 6-12 where we find the Lord’s servant Caleb boldly proclaiming the promise of the Lord as he begins to take the mountain that was promised to him by Moses. While I was listening to this message, I couldn’t help but think of how often we women, even as believers, only see giants in front of us and obstacles that keep us from truly experiencing the promises of the Lord in all their fullness. We let ourselves believe we are missing the proverbial “something” that will one day make us happy, but day after day we go on being defeated and hoping we simply feel better when we wake up. This simple message from Dr. Rogers was my wake up call. Instead of seeing my frustrations or disappointments from my perspective I should instead follow Caleb’s example and focus on how great and big my God is to overcome them all and recognize the trials are the very thing which makes me stronger in my walk with the Lord. The “something” I’m missing is absolute surrender to Christ Jesus who lives in me.

I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. ⁸ Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. ⁹ So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ ¹⁰ And now, behold, theLord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.¹¹ As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. ¹² Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”  Joshua 14:7-14

The Little Stepmom That Could

Have you noticed how our culture makes it so easy to be the victim? Watch about 5 minutes of television and you’ll see someone crying or fighting or saying, “It wasn’t my fault – he made me do it!” Or turn on the radio and you’ll hear about how some man cheated on a girl and now she’s out to make him pay. Our world makes it so easy to glorify the act of “getting even” as a virtue. Because the culture says “it’s okay” and “it’s all about you, babe” – I find it can be so tempting to engage in this modern warfare.

This past week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on this subject. As a stepmom in a blended family I have to ask myself, “Do I see myself as the victim? Do I let the challenges of this role overshadow the joys of it? Do I spend more time talking about the frustrations or the beauty?”

I’ve been dating my husband for about five and half years now, and, in that time I have tried to lean on my own strength and have tried to “be perfect” – psh! whatever that means!?! The sentiment was sweet at first and everyone loved that I never rocked the boat. I didn’t want to do anything that might be construed as manipulative or needy. I didn’t want to take my husband’s attention away from his kids in any way. I didn’t want to do or say anything to upset his ex-wife. In essence, I wore myself out trying to tiptoe through the minefield. I have spent too many of they past years looking, not for what I could do, but instead boxing myself in with all the can’t dos. I can remember thinking, “I can’t stand up for myself to my husband’s ex because that’s not respectful. I can’t make my dreams and desires known to my husband, because, in order to help me reach them, that might take some of his time away from his children and that would be unforgivable.”  And, what my family got from me was a timid quiet shell of a person.

And then, I woke up one day and realized that I couldn’t live like that anymore. I realized that in an effort to be perfect for everyone else, I had lost a part of my own spirit and I had let a bitter seed grow in my heart. I realized I could not and would not live any more days trapped in that cycle. Although that girl didn’t make waves, that kind of person didn’t bring her full self to her family either. The Lord has not called me to life a fear and timidity but, instead, to one of power, love and self-discipline.   I realized somewhere along the way I had bottled up every emotion and frustration and had indeed become the victim, not because of anyone else, but instead because I had been believing a lie that my family didn’t need or want the whole version of me, and that is a shame. No one else made me feel this way, I did it to myself.  I have decided its time to stop shying away from things out of fear, but instead to truly take my place in my family.

This begs the question – what is a stepmom’s place and voice in a blended family? And better yet, do you have even have one? The answer, my friends, is yes – no matter who tries to tell you differently. I urge you, do not listen to the lies of the enemy, but instead seek out the voice of truth. The truth is, beyond all the stereotypes and the dynamics of your relationship with your stepchildren, you husband or the ex-wife, you are a person who thinks and feels and you are just as much a part of the family as anyone else. The truth is, you speak directly into the lives of your husband and your stepchildren. The truth is,  your words are powerful and with that power comes responsibility. Remember, Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 15:1 also says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

You CAN use your voice. You CAN make a difference. You CAN have a place in your family. You might feel like the little engine that could, just struggling to get up the hill, but you CAN make it. However, do not let the fact that you can give way to a place of pride.  You shouldn’t use your voice to shout, condemn or belittle those around you. You shouldn’t let the fact that you do have a place in your family cause you to swell with pride and sling mud to those who persecute you. In Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus heeds, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Do not use your voice as a weapon but instead as a tool of discernment and grace. There is a time for raising your voice without fear or trepidation, and what you have to say might stir frustration and growing pains (like how your muscles rebel when you work them and they’re not used to it), but you should never use your words with the intention to hurt or condemn.

No one enters a marriage or a blended family as a silent partner. You can have a voice and you can have the boldness of a lion and still be as gentle as a lamb.

A Lesson from Quarters

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17, NIV

Early this morning my husband and I were up packing our bags for a weekend on the road with an up and coming country artist. A couple of years ago, she started out as my vocal student and now my husband travels playing piano for her live shows and I just happen to get to tag along this weekend as there is an extra bunk on the bus. Not the typical family lifestyle, but it suits us perfectly. As we were packing, we were also waking the kids to get them off to school on time. Everything was running smoothly, lunches were made, bags were packed, boys were showered and literally walking out the door when my youngest stepson asked, “Dad, do you have any money?” My husband then replied, “What do you need?” “Well, I need some cash for the tailgate today after school before my football game…” 

This request is so simple to a child, but so hard for us adults to provide sometimes. Not because the money is that tight but simply the logistics of the matter can often be more complicated. We don’t typically carry cash, so a question like this at 6:30 in the morning while we are trying to get out the door and to school on time while also trying to get to a tour bus on time poses a bit of a problem. I didn’t have any cash and neither did my husband. We sat for a second trying to problem solve while my stepson started to get irritated. You could almost hear him thinking, “Of course Dad doesn’t have any money…this is so much easier at mom’s house. Mom would have money. Mom wouldn’t be frustrated that I asked as I was walking out the door. Dad is so irresponsible….” Those words didn’t come out of his mouth, but those are the thoughts and pressures that a divorced situation brings. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and tried to focus on solving the problem, and then, almost at exactly the same time, my husband and I remembered our jar of quarters. We poured it out onto our bed and I started counting quarters, nickels and a dimes until we had a good $5 (which will be plenty for a hotdog and drink at the tailgate). We were so proud of ourselves and so grateful we didn’t have an empty-handed child on our hands. However, what happened next was quite discouraging.

We came out of the bedroom and got a plastic baggie in order to put the change in, and my stepson started acting like we had just told him we weren’t going to give him any money. Why would he want a bunch of quarters when he told us he needed $5. Although we explained that he did indeed have $5 he was so caught up on the fact that it wasn’t going to look like everyone else’s $5. He was going to look different. He was going to look poor. We told him he could take the quarters or take nothing. Reluctantly he took the quarters.

As he left, I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe his attitude. We gave him exactly what he asked for….at a moment’s notice!!” I was frustrated, but in that very instant, the Lord reminded me of something ever so gently. It was almost as if I could hear Him laughing saying, “He acts that way about quarters, but Misty, you act that way about your own family some time.” It stopped me dead in my tracks. That voice of conviction was right – sometimes I get so caught up in the fact that my family doesn’t look like I expected it would because my children aren’t my flesh and blood and there’s pressure from an ex-wife. Sometimes I act entitled – just like my stepson thinking he needed actual dollar bills. However, the value in the quarters was the same as the dollar bills, but the perspective was off. The gift and the provision, whether given in dollars or pennies, is essentially the same. The only difference is the weight.

Blended families are hard. Sometimes they feel kind of heavy and we can find ourselves daydreaming about the “perfect” almost-weightless family that we can miss the forest for the trees. Instead of thanking God for the blessing that’s right in front of us and for the gift he has so graciously bestowed upon us, we wind up acting like my stepson and telling God, “Uh…I think you misunderstood…” On the tough days, ask the Lord to show you the blessing of your family. Thank Him for the good things in your life. Thank Him for the provision He sends in the most unexpected of ways. Lay down your expectations and let Him be the God He is and bless you as He sees fit. It will no doubt stir up a heart of gratefulness, and you’ll find you don’t mind carrying around that bag of heavy quarters…you’ll probably like the way they shine. 

 

Old Testament Wisdom

So, I am one month out of graduating from college and I’m just now figuring out how to cope with my free time. Does that sound funny?  For the past two and half years, I have used school as my “escape” and “me” time. Most women go and get massages or pedicures, but not me, I find my escape doing homework and writing papers. My husband pointed that out about a week after my last final exam when I was in a complete funk and twiddling my thumbs bored to tears – literally. I started to feel the conviction that, more than anything else, the Lord wants to be the place I run to and escape to. He invites us to cast all our cares on Him, and I so seldom take advantage of that. So, I made a commitment to spending more time in His word. Using the YouVersion app on my phone I found a through the Bible in 6 months reading plan and have been working my way through both the Old and New Testaments little by little each day. I have grown up reading bible stories since I was a child and committed my life to Christ at a ripe old age of eight. I am familiar with the new testament stories, can quote 1 Corinthians 13 by heart, and I know the major stories like Jonah and the whale, and David and Goliath, but never have a read the Old Testament with a heart to see Christ on every page or to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to me through reading things like the Levitical law passed onto Moses.  Last Sunday, I was a little behind on my reading and so I left my husband and stepson to watch Star Wars while I went to a local coffee shop to spend time in the Word.

I was sitting there reading the end of Leviticus and working my way through the book of Numbers trying desperately to stay focused through the commands of the Lord and naming of the tribes of Israel. I kept asking the Lord, “What do you want to teach me through this? Discipline for just getting through reading this or is there something more?” That’s when I found myself reading Numbers 11. I went from scanning the page to laughing and crying at the same time and repenting for the hardness of my heart. If you’re unfamiliar with Numbers 11, I would encourage you to use the link and go read it now, but I’ll give you a brief synopsis here. To set the scene, the Israelites have been in the wilderness for awhile and are beginning to complain about the manna the Lord has provided and how much they miss the meat and choice foods they ate in Egypt. They long for Egypt even though they are able to travel now with the presence of God. That beginning passage hit me like a ton of bricks.  I too have been complaining (a lot) lately. I complain about how much I miss the home we moved out of three months ago and instead of focusing on what the Lord has continued to provide day after day I have lamented my lack of comfort more. Immediately I felt a sense of conviction.

The next major part of Numbers 11 brought tears to my eyes and really hit my heart as a stepmom. Again, I won’t quote the whole passage here, but in this section Moses begins his complaint to the Lord about the people he has been entrusted with. In verse 12 he says to the Lord, “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers?'” I laughed when I first read this verse and then I cried when I read it again.  We have had a hard week here at the Carson household. I find myself so tired and burnt out lately of the children’s complaints and their mother’s complaints that we don’t do enough to support them financially or emotionally.  No matter how much we (well, really my husband) support extra activities, attend events, help with homework, it is never enough – especially when we have differing ideas than the ex-wife on what the children should and should not do or the freedom they should or should not have. It seems when there is a disagreement, all the hardwork we put in to being there for the kids turns to complaining in one fashion or another.  I have completely tired myself over the last five years trying to to help bring healing to a broken situation, and I really thought I could fix this, but lately I have been feeling the same questions in my heart that Moses was asking the Lord in Numbers 11. Out of complete exhaustion and lack of gratitude and affirmation, I found myself saying to the Lord,  “I didn’t conceive these kids Lord,  but I’m being expected to act like they are mine in one respect and not act like their mine in other respects, and I see my husband constantly being put down by people in his life and I am so tired. Why have you placed me in their lives in this role that is so heavy if I can’t make a difference? What do you want me to do?”

The next passage of Numbers 11 brought me great hope and made me think of all the step-moms that come to this blog and share their journey in the comments. The Lord doesn’t get angry with Moses for asking these questions or expressing his need for help. Instead the Lord appoints seventy elders on whom he places His spirit in order that they might bear the burden of the people with Moses so that he will not bear it alone.  When I read those words I immediately thought of my sisters in Christ here at ChristianStepmom.com. You have been placed in your family through the will of God, and He will be faithful to see you through the trying days, but we can call on Him for help. I pray that this site becomes a gathering place for women to seek refuge and lift one another up in prayer so that we might bear the  burden of this ever-challenging role together. I want you to know you are not alone, and knowing you come to this blog and find strength helps me know I am not alone either.

I firmly believe the best place  to find strength is in a quiet place with the Lord reading His word and letting it minister to you. The Lord will make known to you the hard places in your heart and He will start to soften them and help you stand strong as woman of Christ in your family. In the Old Testament law, the priests were required to keep a fire on the altar burning at both ends of the day. Spending time in the Word of God kindles that fire on the altar of your heart – don’t let the fire go out.

I urge you to comment on the blog or email christianstepmom@gmail.com any prayer requests you might have or any other words of encouragement you would like other step-moms to know.  Blessings to you and your family this week!

But that’s not the way I would…

How many times have you heard yourself saying, in reference to your stepchildren, “That’s not the way I would (insert a multitude of parenting tips tricks and disciplinary actions)”? So often in our role as a stepparent we  find ourselves making decisions for the kids day to day activities, supporting them at sporting events and in general acting like a parent. However, we can get so caught up in that role that we forget they have,in most cases, two parents that are actively trying to raise them. Those moments of reality sometimes hit us stepmamas square between the eyes and knock the wind out of our sails. 

Just this past week there was an altercation with my oldest stepson which ended up with some severe punishment from his high school. Both my husband and his ex-wife believe in disciplining their children and correcting poor behavior, but their views on how to do that actually vary quite a bit. My husband believes in preventative discipline (ie – monitoring internet use, media influence, phone hours, etc) while his ex-wife believes in post-incident discipline. My husband thinks it is okay to make the punishment uncomfortable (ie – no phone, tv, computer for a week). While his ex-wife might take the phone away for a day. And then there’s me…I certainly have an opinion too. I invest in these children’s lives and want the best for them, but when it really comes down to it, I am a tree of support for my husband, not the childrens’ mother. This past weekend I found myself saying to my stepson in jest, “you are so lucky I am your stepmom.” – which is a way of pridefully saying I think I would do a better job, the sentiment is just cloaked in sarcasm.  I also found myself anxiously asking my husband how he was going to handle the behavior problem and putting pressure on him to handle it a certain way. I thought I was being supportive, but really I was nagging and not taking time to respect and consider that this stepson whom I have loved for 5 years has a father and mother who have been parents for over 15 years. As much as I know and love my stepson, his mom and dad know him even more, and instead of being a support beam for my husband, I instead was making his role as a father even more difficult. Not an easy thing to admit, but it is the truth nonetheless.

I recently have been meditating on the 25th verse of Proverbs 31, “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” How those words cut me to the core. I spend so much time worrying about how my stepkids will “turn out” when they start dating, driving, or applying for colleges if they don’t start behaving a certain way right now. I get myself so anxious and then I get frustrated and hear words coming out of my mouth lecturing my husband for not parenting the way “I would.” In those moments I am not a woman of strength, but am instead too frazzled to have a respectful and calm conversation with my husband and that is certainly not a picture of dignity either. And in no way shape or form am I laughing at the days to come – I’m dreading them. I’m sure many of you can relate to those moments of conviction and defeat. 

The beauty of these gut-wrenching moments and this beautiful Proverb is the truth that the Lord can gently show us where we are missing the mark, pour out His grace, and we can grow from the experience. I challenge you to laugh at the days to come this week. None of us is guaranteed another breath – what a tragedy to only focus on the things we dread. I pray for you this week to be a woman of strength and dignity. Rest in the almighty God and his unfailing love and He will bring you peace.

 

Let’s Catch Up

Whew…I don’t know about you, but this year has been one big whirlwind for our family. I thought I’d catch you up on what the Carson clan (ie my crazy family) has been up to over the last few months. 

First off about 4 months ago my awesome husband and I began feeling a deep conviction that we were not living out the life that the Lord had called us to. We were so comfortable in our cute little cabin in the woods and just spending our days going to jobs that provided enough for us to stay there. However, Jason (my husband) and I are both creative types and found our way to Nashville, allured by the music scene, decades ago. Nashville is where we met, shared each others affinity for country music, and fell in love. However, over the past few years we have just flat out been trying to stay afloat. He and I were both working random jobs and were hardly using our talents or our passion let alone making music together. The Lord made it clear in a big way that we should take a leap of faith and start using our voices again. So, to make a long story short we moved out of our beloved and idolized cabin in the woods and moved into my parents basement (don’t worry it’s bigger than our house was). However, we came up against some big challenges in the beginning. For instance, the basement was being remodeled when we moved so we slept outside in a tent for three weeks on the back porch…that was fun. But now the dust has settled and we are all moved in and are actively working on a full-length worship album with a great studio in town, and I’m also writing and recording a a solo country project as well. Jason has been working regularly on the set of “Nashville” the ABC television show and just yesterday he got hired on as a piano player for a touring country artist. However our real passion is music ministry and that’s what we are super excited about. If you want to hear some of our music together, you can visit http://www.youtube.com/AngelsLandingTV.

Meanwhile, throughout the move I have also been finishing my business degree at Belmont University. I went back to school a few years ago, and this last stretch was a doozy. You can always tell when school gets really hectic because that’s when my blog posts and twitter feed have fallen off the face of the earth. However, on August 9th, I graduated with honors and was even awarded a scholarship for being the top graduate among all the colleges. I knew I had worked hard, but I had no idea I had worked THAT hard. In that moment all I could keep thinking about was the verse in Colossians 3 that says, “Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.” 

These past few months have been exhilarating  and terrifying, but I just keep remembering that no matter what I am doing I need to do it as unto the Lord. Whether that’s working on a music ministry, being a wife, being a stepmom, planning family vacations, or simply juggling the family budget – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

So, welcome back, thanks for being patient with me. I can’t wait to see what dialogue really opens up between us now that I can truly devote some time to the blog. I’ll be posting every Tuesday morning – so get your coffee ready and let’s lean on each other! 

Blessings,

Misty

The Carson Clan’s last night at our cabin..yeah it’s summer and there are Christmas lights!!

         Graduation Day with my husband Jason and oldest stepson, Mitchell.

Featured on Today’s Modern Family

I just want to say a big thank you to Kela at Today’s Modern Family for inviting me to be a guest writer on her site. Last week I wrote an article called “Peace, Be Still” in which I reminisced about a painting our pastor speaks of regularly. In this painting you see a storm and towards the very bottom is a bird nestled in the rocks sleeping soundly. Click on the picture below to visit my article on Today’s Modern Family!