If I had to choose my least favorite word, it might be fart. I don’t like to hear it, say it, read it, or smell it. In my mind, it’s the worse ‘f word.’  So, to say the least, I’m being a bit vulnerable by writing it here. I should probably get more comfortable with the word anyways, seeing as we have 3 boys who think anything to do with ‘the topic’ is funny.

As I was arranging bookshelves in our son’s room in our new house in Kansas City this week, I propped a devotional and children’s Bible right up against a grotesque book about different kinds of flatulence. My first instinct was: ‘You can’t do that!’ Shortly followed by the thought: ‘Why not? Jesus farted too.’ After all, He was fully human, all the way down to his bodily functions. He probably even thought ‘passing gas’ was funny when he was a little boy…While gross, I’m pretty sure that kind of humor is not a sin.

This thought process of intersecting Jesus with the real, sometimes disgusting, nitty-gritty details of our lives made me think about how we incorporate our faith into our everyday lives. Especially as our family begins with a blank slate in a new place, I am thinking about what it looks like to foster our faith in the center of our home and our lives.  Personal daily reminders of God’s promises and His amazing grace help keep me centered. I need God throughout my days.

• I need to be reminded, regularly, in the midst of my anxiety and burdens that Jesus offers rest for my soul.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

• When I am restless, stubborn, and lacking in faith, I need to be reminded of God’s patience and ability to sustain me.

“…there will be times when God’s glory is right outside our door, yet we’ll choose to stay inside the tent. There will be days when we hear the clear promises of God and laugh in disbelief…Still, our heavenly Father will respond. He will wait with us and sustain us. He will turn our restlessness into rest in Him.” –Sarah Matheny #shereadstruth

• Even with my very own children, I need to be reminded of what our call to love looks like. Love is patient. Love is kind. Every single morning, I have to ask God to give me the fruits of the spirit… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control don’t come easy in a house full of rowdy kids. And these are the characteristics I most want to model to my children.

• When God is near, I am reminded of my desire to share the love and peace and grace of God with the people in my life.

“They were not to be a people unto themselves enjoying their special relationship with God and paying no attention to the rest of the world. Rather they were to represent him to the rest of the world and attempt to bring the rest of the world to him.” –Douglas Stewart

• When God is at the center of my life, I am reminded that each and every day, He makes me new. Fresh. Clean. A blank slate. In worship yesterday at Christ Community Church, we were reminded to number our days.  Basically, embrace the precious time that God has given each of us.  Each day is a new day to invest in our relationship with God, as well as the people around us.

I have no doubt that in all of His humanity, Jesus put real effort into fostering a relationship with His Heavenly Father. A Father He couldn’t see with His eyes either. All relationships involve effort.

So, here’s to blank slates, to being made new each day, and to allowing Jesus into the nitty-gritty. We have a patient, loving and tender God who is overjoyed when we hold Him in the center of our days.

Lately, I’ve been hearing God’s voice in this beautiful song by Matchbox 20, “Overjoyed.” I am reminded of the relational nature of our Great God who wants to meet us daily. Will you hold Him too?

“Maybe if you hold me baby
Let me come over
I will tell you secrets nobody knows
I cannot overstate it
I will be overjoyed”