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A Dozen Years of Marriage: A few thoughts about being 12 years into life with my love.

Amanda Robinson
Then (5/16/2009) & Now (5/9/2021)

1. Picture it…all 5 of our crew were squished up in a queen sized bed. Proof positive that there WAS room for Jack on the door, Rose. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

2. Being all squished up together is one of my favorite things. I know that time is coming that it won’t happen again so I’m trying to burn those memories deep into my brain – the giggles, the smells, how my hand is holding two sometimes three little hands simultaneously, how we all just fit together. Family.

3. Our daughter, ever the romantic, asks what special thing are we doing to celebrate our anniversary today. I used to feel super depressed if we didn’t have something grand planned for that particular day, but I looked in her bright eyes and said, “Sweetheart, today is so special! That’s true! However, what your dad & I have learned is that there are 365 days a year to celebrate our love. We celebrate by loving Jesus, by laughing, by making memories with y’all.” She giggled. I continued, “Yes, we have set aside special time to celebrate because that’s important, but it may not be fancy or grand and we’re content in that. How big or small we celebrate does not equal how much we love each other.” She nodded thoughtfully. “What’s made our marriage great is that it’s foundation is Jesus and then laughter.” I thought about that statement and how the order of those two tenets is extremely vital to a marriage that thrives and lasts. One that’s rooted in Jesus will inevitably be filled with laughter because of the joy of the Lord’s salvation, without it there’s no hope.

4. When I say Jesus is our foundation I mean it in the deepest way. We pray together and for each other. We point each other back to God through God’s word. We stumble and fall individually & sometimes together, but there is grace and forgiveness because what’s been shown to us on the cross has radically changed our hearts & how we live.

5. Luke said, “Happy Dozen Years of Marriage, Babe!” 🥰 “One whole dozen,” I thought, “like a carton of eggs. 🤔hmmm, each egg is unique. None exactly like before. Some have had a few cracks, but by God’s grace He’s held us in his hands similar to the styrofoam carton. We’ve felt the cracks but He’s always there holding us and protecting us and even if there is ever a crack that’s big enough to break the egg…it’s not going anywhere, the carton has it & will get us home. *disclaimer: This is an imperfect analogy regarding a perfect God so take it with a grain of salt and go with it. ☺️

6. If you are squished into a queen-sized bed with your spouse and 3 children, then you obviously want to play – “there were 5 in the bed and the little one said”. It’s fun and there’s lots of laughter when one-by-one everyone rolls out of the bed, until the littlest is alone in the bed crying because he doesn’t want to be alone. 😭 So we ALLLLL happily piled back into the bed and cuddled. And everything was right once again. 🥰

7. Lastly, I shared my above analogy with my darling husband of 12 years and he chuckles replying, “Of all the things that come in a dozen you chose eggs. Like there’s donuts, cupcakes, etc. haha”. I referred him to the disclaimer. 🤪😂 Laughter, y’all. It’s an important ingredient in our marriage. 😍

Luke Robinson, I love you more than I ever thought possible. I’m so honored to be your bride, your ride or die, adventure partner & lover.

With all that I am, I’m yours. Always. 💜

12 years of marriage…15 together…lots of memories made & a lifetime to go. 😍
Faith

A Vision of Hope

Amanda Robinson

When plans get canceled and things keep piling on it’s easy to slip down into that pit. You know the one…depression. It’s slippery and deep. Once you’re down there Satan wants you to focus on the stresses that’s piling up around you because when you’re busy focusing on the stressors, then you’ve taken your eyes off the Savior.

But friend, can I share something that the Lord reminded me of this week?

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared. Admittedly, the physical pain gets so bad that it’s hard to focus on writing and sharing, but maybe it’s also because my eyes started to look within instead of up?

One day last week I had a really tough time…it was one of those times where you beg the Lord to take you because it’s just too much. I went to bed sobbing. Y’all…the Lord is so good…He gave me a dream. I’m sharing because I know that I’m not alone…no matter how often satan tries to peddle that lie, I’ve learned…he’s wrong. I’m not alone.

In the dream, I’m sitting alone in a dark muddy pit. I know it was muddy, though I couldn’t see, because I tried desperately to climb my way out…one, two, three times…each time was just as futile as before. The mud just sucked me right back down. I sat like a child, legs crossed, sobbing, & hopeless. But then appeared Jesus. I couldn’t see his face but I knew it was him. He’s my Shepherd, my Lord…I know it was Him. He held me. He just sat and held me. I woke up and while the pain was still there, so was the peace from such an intimate encounter with my Savior.

Later on that day I was praying for a precious friend and the Lord gave me a vision. I know it sounds crazy, but I tell you that the Lord IS able and faithful to communicate with us! We should ALWAYS test these dreams & visions against the Bible. If it contradicts God’s Word, then we can know it’s false and not of God. However, if it aligns with the Word of God we can KNOW that the vision is true and from Him! The vision was of Jesus carrying me on His back as He climbed out of that pit. Then of my friend on Jesus’ back as He brought her out of the pit as well.

Here’s the thing Jesus could have spoke and brought us out of that pit without getting down in there with us, but that’s not who Jesus is. He meets us in that pit and then we must cling tight to him every step of the way up so that we can look back and say – that was not me, that was all God.

If you are struggling to see out of the darkness, cry out to Jesus. He’ll be there.

In Christ’s redeeming love,

Faith, God, jesus

Social Media & Pithy Statements: Are they becoming our daily bread?

Amanda Robinson
Image by emaria. Licensed via Adobe Stock.

I know that I’m not the only one who loves to scroll through social media and see Bible verses or Hymn lyrics in pretty fonts on beautiful backgrounds. It’s such a refreshing change from the hate and division that has become the norm across social media land. One of my favorite songs says, “when I rise give me Jesus.” It’s the perfect pithy phrase that has been plastered on shirts, mugs, and homes across America. But did you know that it does not actually exist anywhere in the Bible? The songwriter did a wonderful job of taking God’s word and through proper exegesis pulled together a powerful summation of several different passages of God’s word. Does that make it wrong? No, certainly not. However, I wanted to share something that the Holy Spirit laid on my heart today. When we first wake up who or what are we turning to? Our phones or to Jesus? Have we traded pithy statements on beautiful backgrounds for actual time spent at the feet of Jesus in His word? Honestly…I’ve been guilty of that more times than I care to admit to y’all.

Does this mean we should quit sharing those gorgeously scripted Bible verses on varying floral backgrounds? No, by all means, SHARE the word of God – ALWAYS! The point is that these pictures should never replace time studying, meditating, and praying over God’s word. The former will lead to a shallow religion at best, the later will lead to a deep and richly satisfying relationship with Abba God.  

The Lord brought these verses to mind which prompted this article…

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. 4 But he [Jesus] answered, “’It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-4)

Isn’t that just typical Satan, attacking when we are tired, hurting, lonely, hungry, etc.? Jesus made this statement to Satan after fasting in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. Y’all. I get hangry* at the end of my intermittent fasting time so I’m pretty sure I’d have stabbed a fool [satan] after 40 days. Praise God that Jesus is Jesus and not me. Amen?! Amen. The Bible even makes it a point to say that Jesus was in fact hungry. For him to have not had a lick of food for FORTY days and nights, yet his response to Satan was to quote scripture…how very telling as to the enormity of daily feasting or meditating on God’s word!

I challenge you, dear friend, let us reach for our Bibles and not our phones in the mornings so that we can be prepared at all times.

By His grace,

*hangry = when one reaches a certain level of hunger that incites anger.

Faith

Standards

Amanda Robinson
“Tape measure wood” , by Christian, Standard license through Adobe Stock

I love a good DIY project. It wasn’t until recently that I’ve had space to tackle some larger projects. One of my main tools that I have handy is my trusty 25ft measuring tape. Now it’s nothing fancy, but it is reliable. How do I know that? Well because the company that makes this tool is solid, trustworthy. They have a gold standard, if you will, ensuring that each measuring tape is appropriately calibrated for accurate measuring. As I am sure you are aware, the measuring tape, while a small and seemingly insignificant tool, is vital for a project to succeed so much so that “measure twice, cut once” is the mantra in the construction world. I’m hoping to renovate our fireplace & create some built-ins soon. What would happen if I decided not to use my measuring tape while tackling that project? I can tell you with absolute certainty that it would fail. While eyeballing some measurements might be okay for my smaller DIYs, that would not be the case for such a massive project. Such is the case of trying to live our daily lives without first seeking wisdom in God’s word. We might be able to fake it for a while from the things we learned as kids in Sunday school, youth group, or even VBS; but over time those measurements might get jumbled up and fuzzy, unless we are daily going to the source – the ultimate measuring tape – God’s word.

Now imagine this, I’m getting ready to cut up a 2×4. I pull out my measuring tape and think…hmmm, nah, I’ll just use this scrap piece of wood even though it’s a little warped. It should be fine, right? No! Of course not. Any carpenter/diy-er worth his/her salt would laugh straight in my face. Why? Because the scrap piece of wood is not trustworthy. It has no set standard, its been shaped and warped by various experiences; therefore, any piece that I cut using that scrap wood as a measuring tool would most assuredly lead to more warped, uneven wood pieces.

Today, I am speaking to the folks who profess to be Christians – the ones who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, not the ones who say they are Christians simply because they attend church, have been raised in church all their life, because (insert family member) was a pastor (or other ministry position), or because you came from the Bible Belt where there are churches lined up side-by-side down main street so the “Christian” ideology just kind of oozes into the culture of your heritage. For those who fall into any of aforementioned categories, please stop reading now and send me a private message, because I’d LOVE nothing more than to share the Gospel of Jesus with you. Seriously, no condemnation, just a conversation on how Jesus changed this broken sinner and made her whole.

If you are still reading, then I’m going to assume that you are a fellow brother/sister in Christ. Yay! That is awesome! What you are about to read will sound harsh, because the truth can sound that way when our hearts are so ensnared in sin. But, please, I ask that you read this in a tone of love.

If you profess Jesus as Lord, then your first and ONLY standard of what is right and wrong should be the Bible. Not social media. Not television/celebrities. Not your friends. And last but most importantly not least – Not your family.

The above statement sounds contradictory coming from me, one who is writing and sharing these truths, yet I will say to you what my husband and I tell our children, “Don’t take our word for it, look, see that it is here in God’s Word. It is God’s standard, not ours.”

2 Timothy 3:15-17 tells us…”And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

  1. God’s word is divinely inspired.  
  2. God’s word is sacred.
  3. God’s word makes us wise for salvation through Jesus.
  4. God’s word is true.
  5. God’s word is sufficient.

God is holy and cannot contradict himself; therefore, His word is truth. Not a truth, rather THE truth. It is profitable or sufficient for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. When we view God’s word in light of this revelation, then His word should become the ultimate measuring stick with which we measure everything. (1 John 4:1; Romans 12:2)

However, many Christians are opting to “do what feels right” and have begun to measure God’s word through the lens of pop culture or their own personal experiences which have been warped and marred by their own sin nature.

Jeremiah 17:9 clearly states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…”

Doing what feels right is a very slippery slope away from the true Gospel; however, what has me just as concerned are those who have been claiming the title of Christian for many, many years yet there has been no growth (Colossians 1:9-10; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-8).  The writer of Hebrews admonishes those believers in chapter 5 verses 11-14 who are yet babes still on milk, rather than enjoying the hearty feast of deep spiritual growth. Why is this so upsetting and scary? If the current generation of believers, who are supposed to be spiritually “mature”, are still but babes themselves, then how can we expect the next generation be strongly rooted in God’s word.

It’s the same with those scrap pieces of wood. If I were to use each new piece as a guide for the subsequent measurement, then with each new cut would be a more distorted standard of the original. Which would be in essence…worthless.

It bears a heavy weight, but must be asked…is God’s word the ultimate standard for your life? Are you daily in God’s word firmly rooting His wisdom in your heart and mind? Or are you allowing your words and actions be measured by a warped version of Christianity?

In Christ’s redeeming love,