“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:25-27

I shouldn't be surprised when God provides. And yet, I can't help but sit in awe when I see how He continues to come through time and time again.

I guess, because a lot of the time I feel undeserving. I know there are people who have greater needs than us. But still God chooses to bless us. He chooses to care for us. And in the most unexpected ways!

This week we were approached by a lady in our church, whom Josh and I had never met, and told that she felt God wanted her to give us some baby girl clothes that she had acquired. I can't explain to you how much of a blessing it was to hear this. I really wasn't sure if we would have any baby showers this pregnancy, and now at 5 months pregnant we had not a single thing for our little Hannah. But if this month has taught me anything, it is not to worry. To be content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. With a little, or with a lot. God cares for us and provides for our needs.

And here was God. Showing up right on time. Well, actually four months early.

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This woman, or angel as my husband refers to her, lavished us with enough clothes to last a WHOLE YEAR! Really, newborn to 12 months. And about four bins/bags full. I couldn't believe my eyes when Josh unloaded the car with all that she had dropped off at the church!

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Honestly, I don't know where we would be without the body of Christ. They have come through for us time and time again.

And one of the biggest blessings of all was hearing the reason this woman decided to choose us to give these clothes to. I didn't need a reason. She could have given it anonymously and God would have received all the glory for it. But she left us a little card inside one of the bags, with a note inside thanking me for leading her in worship every Sunday.

This woman gave because of my service. Wow. 

I share this to encourage you friends. Continue serving and investing in the lives around you. Wherever God has placed you. It's not always easy, I know. Even if it's something you love as much as I love singing - there are still those days when it is hard. And you wonder if what you're doing even matters at all. God will reward you for your righteousness and faithfulness (1 Sam. 26:23). And someone you may not even know could be the angel God decides to use to remind you of that.

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This post is part of a series I’m writing for the month of October entitled “31 Days of Being Content.”  See all other posts in this series by clicking here. Or enter your email address in the sidebar on the right to subscribe to this blog and receive posts straight to your inbox!

I have a confession. The Walking Dead is my favorite show on TV right now. I probably wouldn't have admitted that two years ago when I first started watching it. I was disturbed, as most people are, at the amount of gore and gruesome deaths involved. But then I kept watching, becoming more and more attached to the characters and story line. I felt kind of ridiculous trying to persuade my friends and family to watch it. Like I was encouraging them in some kind of "evil deed." But after the numbers came out last week that showed 16 million people tuned in to the premiere of the fourth season, not to mention a ton of those friends and family I once tried so hard to persuade, I now realize I'm not so alone anymore. And it feels like the right time to discuss it.

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To stick with this month's theme of "being content," I want to address contentment when it comes to moral decisions. Specifically, our movie and TV choices.

You may think I'm stretching here. Wondering what contentment has to do with our moral convictions. But I know, from experience, that there is definitely a correlation. So stick with me.

I want to go ahead and say that I don't believe there is a "one-size" fits all moralistic code that we are supposed to abide by as believers. Which means, what is okay for one person may not be okay for another. I used to believe differently, and tried to push my moral convictions on other believers. Then I read Romans 14 and the Holy Spirit convicted my heart.

What I do know, is that we should be content in whatever we have decided when it comes to our moral choices. And be so confident, that we are willing to stand before God one day and give a personal account (because we will, by the way).

What I can tell you about our personal decisions is that we don't watch nudity, sex, scantily dressed men or women or anything that encourages lustful thoughts. Sometimes this means turning off "The Voice" because Christina chose not to cover up the top half of her body that night. Most of the time this means skipping the Super Bowl halftime show, and certain scenes in movies when we pick up on the sexual cues and innuendos. This is a moral conviction we have set in place for our family, and not just for my husband's sake, but for mine and our children too. Lust is not just a "man's issue" in our house.

Anything that falls outside of this issue, we tend to take case by case.

The Walking Dead is one of those case by case examples. There are very few times we have to fast forward this show because of sexual innuendos. I can count them on one hand. It's probably one of the cleanest shows in regards to that. But as far as violence? It's probably the worst.

But I can name another movie that was so violent it received a rated R rating, yet was passionately advocated by the Christian community - The Passion of the Christ.

The reason we take these movies and TV shows case by case, is because we see the value in what they offer. If the show is a nonsense, horror flick about chopping up bodies (i.e. The Saw) you can count me out! But if the show is teaching us a lesson on humanity and the value of life, I can totally get in to (and learn from) it.

I'm not here to encourage you to allow violence in your life, in fact I discourage you from allowing anything that causes you discontentment in your spirit. But let that be the guiding decision for your moral choices and not an invisible code that you believe not only applies to yourself, but to everyone else around you. Trust me, you will never be content when you try to live this way.

I know, because for a long time I wasn't.

This post is part of a series I’m writing for the month of October entitled “31 Days of Being Content.”  See all other posts in this series by clicking here. Or enter your email address in the sidebar on the right to subscribe to this blog and receive posts straight to your inbox!

Last night as I went to bed, I closed my eyes and had a vision of how today would go. I would wake up, pull Micah from his crib and snuggle with him for a few minutes before jumping in the shower to get ready for my 9am bible study. The babysitter would come at 8:30 and I would leave her with a clean, fed, happy baby who would be ready for his nap in an hour.

Then I would drive to bible study, enjoy a refreshing time with some wonderful ladies and make a pit stop by the doctor's office to pick up my blood test referral. I would come home in time to meet the floor guy who is putting tile in our kitchen and laundry room, and relieve the baby sitter from her duties...

And then I woke up this morning.

And it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Ever have one of those days?

I didn't wake up to my alarm this morning, or even a soft cry on the baby monitor, instead I woke up a half hour late to a screaming, crying baby. And I was so "out-of-it" that I had a pillow fight (meaning I kept my head on the pillow the whole time) with my husband about who would go get Micah.

I won. But really, we both lost.

As Josh was in the room changing Micah, I hear him call for me on the monitor, "Cassidy, please come in here... there's pee everywhere." As I fought to open my eyes and stumble out of the bed, I mumbled loud enough for him to hear about how dramatic he sounded about pee and that it can't be that bad...

When I got in the room, Micah proceeded to pee all over me. (Insert dramatic sigh)

Josh started the bath and by this time it was 8:15. There was no way I'd be showered before the babysitter arrived.

After Micah was bathed, I got him dressed and changed the sheets in his bed (which also had pee all over them). Doorbell rings, I grab my robe and answer it. Thankfully, she humored me and called me gorgeous (she's a keeper).

I finally jump in the shower to get ready. Now my thought is, there is no way I'm making the bible study on time.

I hurried and finished with 5 minutes to spare. I'll be a few minutes late, but things are looking up.

Then I get in the car, pull out into the street (the only street to get out of our neighborhood I might add) and get stuck behind a school bus. It took 10 minutes to drive 2 miles.

I have nothing else to do, so I start singing. "Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I've got a beautiful feeling, everything's going my way!"

I couldn't help but laugh when I look down and my gas tank is empty.

Sound familiar?

We all have those days when the way we envisioned it going is nowhere close to reality. Sometimes it's silly examples like the one I gave, and sometimes it's your wedding day. Whatever it is, and whenever it happens, the feeling that comes over us can probably be summed up in one word: discontent.

It's hard to be content with life when it doesn't go as planned. And it's not like we can just get rid of our "plans." Oh, how I wish it was that easy sometimes. But our society thrives on a schedule. We have schedules for learning - we call it school - schedules for eating, schedules for exercising, and we even schedule in a time for spiritual growth every Sunday.

Not that schedules are a bad thing, because without them a lot of us would not accomplish these basic, necessary habits for our lives. But when we live for a schedule instead of with a schedule, I think that is when we crumble when it falls apart.

Here is a passage that calms my discontent heart when it comes to plans:

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16

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I made it to my bible study this morning twenty minutes late, but I still received the blessing of fellowship and truth spoken with the women there. If I lived for the schedule, I probably would have just told them I wasn't going to make it when I knew I wouldn't be there right on time. But living with the schedule, allows me to experience the freedom and grace that comes with not being able to handle every problem that hinders my "perfect plans."

I probably wouldn't try to use that as an excuse to your boss for why you're late for work everyday, but you get the picture.

Plans are wise and should be made, but our hearts should be so dependent on the Lord for when the time comes and they're, inevitably, broken.

This post is part of a series I’m writing for the month of October entitled “31 Days of Being Content.”  See all other posts in this series by clicking here. Or enter your email address in the sidebar on the right to subscribe to this blog and receive posts straight to your inbox!