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It’s Sunday.

The sun is hot and high, beating and beaming.

It’s a thick and busty 95 degrees.

I have Texas blood pumping through my Cherokee veins so I’m choosing to tap keys from the backyard this afternoon.

The neighborhood birds are encouraging one another from perches on all the house peeks. And it’s making me want to send out words from where I am to where you are to keep us all close and going.

We’ve had a special Sabbath.

Our friends and mentors from Identity Exchange were here all weekend helping us release, trade-in, receive, empty, fill, grow in the truth of who God is and who we are. It’s been a real marker and highlight for me, especially as a mother.

Just this very morning, one 30 minute sermon taught me more than the 30 books and blogs I’ve read on the issue of parenting.

I walked out of that sanctuary lighter yet fuller, more aware but less cautious – wanting my kids to experience real and pulsing over safe and dead.

My confession is that I’ve been parenting from a place of rock hard fear, friends. It’s led us to a sequestered, ultra metered, trembling kind of life. It’s resulted in an uptight, sickly, laughterless existence.

All this time I thought safety meant freedom. Safety from people, from pain, from injuries, from sickness, from hardship, from challenge.

But in reality safety only meant shackled.

It meant raising kids with fear over faith and frailty over adventure.

But what’s wild is, I don’t feel like hanging my head in some kind of shame from the realization. I don’t feel regretful or condemned or languished over it.

I just feel like doing it differently now.

That’s how Jesus does things and isn’t it beautiful that way? He shows us where we are, and points us to the path, and just gets us going in the right direction with no angry or condemning look backs. 

It’s funny that truth is armor. It’s funny that hearing the truth, telling the truth, knowing the truth, and wearing the truth (Ephesians 6:14) is what leads us to victory in this whole big battle.

The truth today?

We aren’t called to sheltered, side-lined living.

We’re called to the exposed front-line instead.

It’s more perilous there, but it’s also where we find purpose. It’s where we war against evil in our God-given identities. It’s where we link arms with other believers and make progress. It’s where we love in massive amounts!

We go out and we raise them up armored in the truth and rooted in the gospels and we and them…

live

and fight

and go

and grow

and work

and administer

and serve

and speak

and share

…right out there in the exposed open.

I want my kids to not only be comfortable with it, I want them to crave it.

Lord, yes.

This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Leslie

    Amen! Me too!

  2. Valarie Messerknecht

    Oh Kate, I wish I had heard that 30 minute teaching!! I’m driving myself crazy trying to do things just right with these grands that I’m responsible for. When you said “uptight, laughterless existence” the tears started to flow. It’s nerve wracking to know there are some who are watching very closely and even some who are anxiously awaiting failure to happen. I’ve become a harsh grandma and that grieves my heart. Please keep sharing how this all works and looks like for your family. Thank you for always being so real!!
    Val Messerknecht

  3. Judy Bouchsrd

    Amen

  4. Kate

    Miss you Judy! Thanks for reading!

  5. Kate

    I will absolutely share. It does help to see how it all plays out! Ive started today VERY SIMPLE. And while it’s a little embarrassing, I have begun by not making my kids wash their hands a million times after being out and about, or after getting food from a buffet. I’m also attempting to laugh rather than lose it on certain things that pop up. Its SO MUCH BIGGER than this, but it’s all in the baby steps! Lord, provide for Val and replenish her and surround her with help and community! Also, I’ll try to post the link to the message on my FB page when it comes out! Hugs to you!

  6. Kate

    Thank you for reading!

  7. Lacey Thompson

    AMEN and AMEN!! You go Girl!!! I came away very empowered with the message Sunday too! God Bless Jamie and Donna!

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