Meagan, Author at Meagan View

Anything Could Happen

The struggles of 2020 pale in comparison to the battle tested strength of a mother. Mothers have years of experience dealing with fear, worry, social limitations and life altering choices – they’ve been trained in handling social upheaval, judgment calls, merciful dealings, and instructional guiding. The hard-knocks of Motherhood doesn’t end when the child leaves home – it intensifies. The days of surrendering our temper, our shortcomings and our worries, become days of surrendering our will, our expectations and our grown child.

This post isn’t about motherhood – it’s about reaching deep into the battle grounds of previous life lessons and gripping onto Hope.

Is anyone else feeling a little uneasy about walking into the year 2021? For most of us, 2021 has left us feeling bruised, tired, and uncertain. To write about all the struggles feels exhausting – the struggles we’ve experienced span the globe. When I ponder years past, the joys and hardships – motherhood has taught me that unexpected joys and struggles will never cease and Covid-19 is just another example of us needing to lean into Jesus more and more with each passing year.

Anything could happen.

When I read that sentence, I am instantly standing at a crossroads. In one direction, the road is dark and I can feel the weight of dread and anxiety, with hovering trees blackened with fearful shadows and screeching vultures. Anything could happen feels fearful and I’m bracing myself to endure the pain. In the other direction is a path that has a gradual slope upward, it’s lit with the noon-day sun; bright and warm. With terrain easily navigated and adorned with wild fruits that hang heavy with sweet juices. I can feel Anything could happen is an adventure worth climbing with anticipation of beautiful sights.

Anything could happen is an invitation to see and walk the road of Hope.

Jay Y. Kim (Pastor of Westgate church), wrote in his article, “An Expectant Leap”:

This is what Christian hope looks like. It doesn’t ignore fear, anxiety, and doubt; it confronts them. It holds steady, clinging to peace in the midst of chaos. Through life’s many treacherous storms … Christian hope is buoyed by something greater that has happened and something greater that is going to happen again.

As we walk into 2021, I hope you’ll ponder Anything with joy and expectation from a Father who loves you perfectly. A Father who eagerly wants to guide you through a beautiful path where you’ll grow strong and experience His nourishing blessings. A Father who knows what lies ahead in 2021 and is holding out a hand for you to see and walk In and With Hope … Jesus is our Hope, because of what He did and because of what He is going to do. We can be sure of His promises and leadership because we’ve seen Him work in our past trials and victories … He is a Father that never fails us, never leaves us, and walks with us through every struggle, regardless of time, situation or choice we’ve made.

Friend, anything could happen. Let’s choose to see and be willing to navigate into Hope, a path filled with Jesus’s blessings! I hope you can whisper the words, anything can happen, with excitement for the new year; secure in the fact that your needs are being watched over and provided for.

Anything can happen! I wait with you, anticipating the goodness of Father.

♥

If You’re Praying for Truth to be Revealed

This waiting period is hard; our entire country is in a holding pattern circling above a year of emotional exhaustion and adrenaline fatigue. As ballots are being counted and lawyers are called into action, we are praying. However, what if our prayer exposes corruption in our heart? That is what happened to me. If you’re praying for justice and truth, may I encourage you to rest for a moment within these words?

As I scrolled through the headlines, “voting fraud” were the repetitive words I read. Feeling helpless and hopeless, my small prayer was uttered, “Father, let your truth be known.” Knowing my heart better than I, Father responded quickly with this question, “Would you ask the same if your candidate was winning?” If you would, you’re better than me – because I hesitated and did some truthful heart searching before I could answer that question. The bottom line was, I wouldn’t.

I love Father’s truth – Father’s truth reveals our sin and allows us to see the deception in our heart. In regards to the election, hopefully you casted your vote and gave the rest to God. If you’re continuing in prayer, you’re in good company. However, perhaps the truth you’re desiring to be revealed is under your own roof, in your family or those you hold near? Perhaps the argument that ignited under friction and left you wondering what just happened – has you reeling in the pain of fraudulent claims? You’ve experienced the emotional eruptions that exploded and now you’re left feeling unheard and misunderstood. I’ve often prayed for God to reveal the truth in people, however, I’ve often been shown it’s my truth I desire, or my opinion I want upheld. The truth is I was fighting for my ideals, my idols, and my ways of protecting my heart from being hurt.

When we ask for God’s truth to be revealed, it begins with being honest about the situation.

Be honest about your pride … it hides behind self-righteousness.
Be honest about fear, fear is magnified in the assumptions we entertain.
Be honest about your offence, willing to offer a sacrifice of prayer instead of desiring sympathy from a friend or social media.

“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.” Psalm 51:6

The only truth we can depend on and find healing in, is Father’s. We have the truth of His love, His provision, and His leadership in our lives. Take rest in Him today knowing and rejoicing that you are loved deeply, provided for greatly, and given authority through Christ Jesus to know and experience a healing and guiding truth.

♥

I Wish The Church Knew This About Introverts

I’ll let you in on a secret – I truly don’t like church chairs. They have no arm rest, this means the person next to me can invade my space with an elbow or worse, a thigh! The chairs come equipped with a hook used to latch the next chair and prevent movement … sounds like entrapment to me! I get it, keep the space organized. I could introvert-idly critique many more aspects; however, I’ll stop because what I truly desire isn’t about my comfort. In fact, the things I wish the church knew, also push me out of some comfort zones.

There have been many Sunday mornings where I’ve stood staring into my bathroom mirror. With puffy eye’s, messy hair and smeared mascara, I will debate with myself about going to church or staying home. For an introvert, staying home always feels right. However, deep down inside, there is some cosmic pull (or guilt) that causes us to turn on the shower, lather up and put on something comfortable. It is not organized religion we want – it’s the hope and desire of being a part of something bigger than ourselves.

I wish the church knew; relationships are the driving force that bring about change.

My “come to Jesus” moment wasn’t because I was told I should go to church. It wasn’t because of the flashing lights or a spectacular worship band. It was because someone took the time to talk on the phone, meet me for coffee, invite me to their house and help me navigate my pain with understanding and a listening ear. An introvert needs time to talk, yes, we actually do enjoy talking when given time to formulate our thoughts. This is where change occurs, as we navigate our thoughts we end up drawing those around us toward a deeper understanding of a love we feel or have experienced.

We need to be given questions with respect to find our answers.

Introverts love to think. We are usually rolling ideas around in our head or contemplating some life lessons … we love to make sense of our world by going inward and studying all aspects in question. Therefore, being told what to think or what to say, is like slamming a door to our greatest resource. I’ve known many to stay home on Sunday’s because they were simply done being told how to live or what to think.

We enjoy good questions, questions that challenge our perspectives; something that stirs us deeply rather than being pushed into a go-with-the-flow mentality. And this: don’t assume your questions will cause us to agree with you, be willing to be challenged as well.

Most importantly,

I wish the church knew, just because we like being home doesn’t mean we don’t need fellowship … we just don’t need it as often.

Most people have filled calendar spaces. Me? I prefer empty ones, that is until I crave companionship. Being introverted comes with a hermit crab connotation; the suggestion that we simply won’t leave our homes. It’s not true. In fact, meaningful connection gives us wings. A conversation that includes laughter and life – truly brings out our best self!

Which brings me to say this – Church, you need us.

You need us to challenge the chairs! Yes, you need our perspective; the perspective that has sat uncomfortably close to another while maintaining a listening ear. You need us to give time to another – time for conversation that leads to later coffee dates … that lead to a “come to Jesus” moment that only Holy Spirit can provide through an understanding vessel. Most importantly, you need our fellowship; fellowship that isn’t afraid of another’s pain rather pulls it close and examines it through a heart of thoughtful consideration. We’re gifted listeners and will pause to hear when others are running by.

Church, let us live the poetry we sing on Sunday morning; the poetry that shines light on something bigger than ourselves. For this reason, I’ll wash away smeared mascara and drive toward an ever-present hope in Christ Jesus.

Dear Parent On The Verge of Homeschooling

Are you part of the mighty wave of homeschoolers sweeping across our nation? If you’re reading this you’ve, at the very least, considered it. Before you add another how to article to your Homeschooling Pinterest board – let this strengthen your confidence and reaffirm your plans. ♥

#1: Your child will not lose academic ground.

Imagine a group of children riding bikes down a road. They all must stay within the safe lines and move at the same pace. They are all seeing and experiencing the same scenery. Some are distracted by the rider in front, another is being bumped by the rider in back … one thing is for sure, the goal in mind is to get all the children to the same place at the same time.

Now imagine a little boy daring enough to venture down a side trail. He veers off and is surrounded with wild flowers, trees with out stretched canopy’s, wildlife, streams with jumping frogs and camouflaged fish … the scope of his learning adventure has been greatly widened and richly experienced.

This is not in criticism to the public school; this is about enriching your child with applicable tools learned through self-navigation and curious pursuit. At the end of the school year, your child will have multiple memories of great learning adventures through books, museums, documentaries – and much more! Their character and sense of belonging will be sculpted and strengthened as you engage them with house chores, visits with friends and family, and instill in them their intricate and necessary role they occupy in your family.

No, your child will not lose academic ground – they’ll learn to navigate their academics with curiosity, and in doing so, those lessons become foundations to their life-long successes.

#2: Now is the time.

Our children are being engaged in an adult world – they’re being placed in predicaments that many mature adults struggle to navigate! With emotional responses and ignorance that abounds, our children are forced to live in survival mode on a daily basis. Their developing brains are learning how to cope, survive and make sense of their surrounding – we must not let trauma teach them.

Now is the time to protect them, nurture them and develop their world-view. Now is the time to discuss Marxism, Socialism, Communism, Capitalism … freedoms we have (like homeschooling) and how we got them. Now is the time to encourage learning by demonstrating learning. You will not have all the answers and that’s good – you will demonstrate to your child on how to search for answers to formulate a well thought out opinion. An opinion that is not swayed by fear or pressure – but stands firm on a solid foundation of research and truth.

#3: This homeschooling gig is temporary.

Take it from a woman who has graduated two from homeschooling. The season of having our children home all day does not last. Each grade goes by faster than the previous. There will come a day when bedrooms get dusty and no longer require your cleaning lectures. Without causing you to weep over time gone by and time running out – do something today (and every day) that empowers the present.

Empower your home with activity that encourages growth, curiosity and peace.

You can do this, and for what it’s worth – I’m proud of you. You’re taking a stand against that which is causing destruction. Most admirably you’re stepping onto grounds you may not have wanted to step on nor thought you ever would! In time you’ll see all the wonderful benefits of homeschooling – and there are many! Give your children time to acclimate to their new ways of learning and give yourself some grace to not have everything perfectly figured out or planned well. You’ll learn together what works and what doesn’t. I pray you see all the blessings that are in your off-road academic adventures.

More encouraging reads!

♥ We Left Public School, You Can Too!

♥ Dear Homeschool Mom Who Works At Home

Three Ways To Remove Your Child From The Battlefield

“Until you and I receive the Son God has offered – we’ll be offering our sons and daughters on the battlefields of this world for possession, power, prestige and land.” – Ravi Zacharias

The above was a statement given by Ravi in his last teaching before leaving to his eternal home. His last message is a powerful one, with his humor and on point wisdom – he passes the baton of faith on to us. Does anyone else feel its weight? Feel it slipping through our palms as we focus on schooling, vaccines, science, health, jobs … and so much more? Maybe fear has you playing every worst-case scenario in your mind? With so many battles taking place right now, our children are being forced onto battlefields to fight in adult wars over possession, power, prestige and land.

In 2019 libraries began transgender story hour, gender identity (masculine and feminine alike) was being taught from a drag queen. The battlefield of identity, possession for our youth, was well underway.

We’ve seen the Black Lives Matter movement strike fear and protest into their own communities – the battlefield of power on violent display. The casualties included the most innocent, children with bullet wounds, a young mother beaten to death – innocent victims who never lived to see the battle end.

The political battlefield is subtlety gruesome – it thrives in division and spreads hatred, fear and lies. With an appetite for land, power and prestige … this battlefield has invaded homes and friendships. Its method of advancement is fear.

Though we may no be able to stop these battles – we can remove our children, while equipping and empowering them into adulthood. And here’s how:

Engage the heart.

Do you know what grieves your child? What makes them fearful or courageous? When we gain access to our child’s most inner sanctions, we can nurture the good, speak clarity to the confusing and strengthen the insecure places. Our children have the same feelings we have (fear, doubt, insecurity, anger), when we relate to their situation, we create an atmosphere of trust that leads to mature guidance. Equip their heart to separate feelings from truth. Battlefields will tell them to follow their heart and their feelings – we can equip them to know feelings are indicators not dictators. As they move in obedience to the word, their heart will follow.

Know their influences.

Influences come in all sizes and forms – friendships, music, television shows, social media … the battlefields are not hidden here, they are obvious to the trained eye. Lisa Whittle writes in her book, Jesus Over Everything,

“You will never have authority over what you are entertained by.”

How many kids are placed in front of screens to later become addicted to pornography, video games and cultural standards of beauty? We must know their influences and engage in conversation about the reality, consequences and truth within these battlefields.

Be a safe parent.

We will love what makes us feel safe and our children are no different. The safety I am writing about is a love with no agenda, no strings attached and no standard to be met. This is what our children need – love that knows no rejection. This type of love equips our kids to know God’s love … a love that repeatedly forgives, empowers and brings healing. In a world of condemnation or total acceptance – God’s love convicts and corrects, not from condemnation but from understanding and wisdom. As we give correction in the form of discipline, we’re equipping our children to know God’s safe love; a love that warns, protects and saves. We are called to be a safe parent for our children, a person to help them flourish with discipleship and direction.

We must remove our children from battlefields that are weakening their ability to understand the consequences of their choices. Let’s be parents who nurture relationship to their heart while keeping out harmful influences. Where battlefields erupt in dangerous activity, we can be the safe person our child trusts to lead him or her. As parents, we must be willing to do the hard things – things that mess with our comfort, mess with our schedule, mess with social and cultural norms.

We must stop sacrificing our children on the battlefields of this world for possession, power, prestige and land – pull them away and lead them to Jesus – ours, and their, only source of victory.

With His love,