Clashing With Others {Giveaway}

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Are you joining us after reading my Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion called clashing with others? {Click here to read it}

Relationships are rough. Sometimes REALLY rough.

If you’d like to take a five-day journey toward better relationships in your family, sign up for my “Pause Before You Pounce” challenge by clicking here or on the image. Here is why I wrote it:

Ever have times when, while interacting with family members around the house, you are certain you are going to blow your stack?

The chores aren’t done on time—or in the right way. Someone makes a complete mess of an area you just spent a great deal of time cleaning. The kids are sluggish getting out the door to an event and now it threatens to make the entire family late. Something you asked someone to do didn’t get done and now it messes up your day. And on and on and on…..

Interruptions. Inconvienences. Delays. Derailments.

Messes. Mishaps. Mayhem……that’s Motherhood!!

When you can’t always control the look of your house–or the actions of those living in it–do you sometimes also have a hard time controlling your temper and your tongue? Do you find yourself behaving biblically backwards—being slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to become angry?

This “Pause Before You Pounce” Challenge includes five days of encouraging and practical devotions that will not only inspire you to interact prayerfully and properly with the members of your family, it will also give you some practical ways to do it along with a small daily challenge designed to bring BIG change! The idea-packed emails will automatically come to you daily for five days starting with the day you sign up.

ALSO: If you want to be entered to win one of three copies of the small group curriculum DVD from my latest book LET. IT. GO.: How to Stop Running the Show & Start Walking in Faith (On how to control what you should and trust God with what you can’t!) leave a comment on this post. The DVD contains 6 weeks of teaching on a different Bible character who either was an example of a control freak or one who trusted God. It is for small group or individual use. {The giveaway is for 3 DVDs valued at $27.99 each. Does not include the companion study guide}

To be entered, tell us what you have the hardest time trusting God with– finances, marriage, kids, future, circumstances, etc…

For me HANDS DOWN it is with my kids and their choices as they grow older. I want to step in and micromanage and keep them from learning hard lessons. But, if I do, they might not learn the lesson! Ugh!

Your turn…..

161 Comments

  1. First-born, need I say more? I love to help others to the detriment of my family most of the time. I want to be everything to everybody yet seem to fail Often. Seeking validation has always been an issue for me.

  2. For me, it is definitely about the choices I see my daughter making. Things that I did and tried to warn her not to do, but she seems to have to learn from her own experiences!!

  3. I need to let go of the way “I” think it should be done. Whether its the way they load the dishwasher, fold the laundry, clean their rooms, and the list could go on. I need to allow “grace” to flow to my children just like the Lord does to me. I’m definitely not perfect but as a mom I feel my children should be since that does reflect back on me. But does it really. God is their “Father” . He created them and Loves them even more than I do. So I need to trust Him that they will make it in life just fine. Letting go of control is very hard.

  4. I like to control all the little details. It usually doesn’t go we’ll. I long to live a life of trust!

  5. My answer would be future and kids – mainly will I have kids? Sometimes the waiting seems so long, but God is faithful!

  6. I have a hard time trusting God to always protect my three little boys. There is so much grossness in the world and its hard to believe God will keep my boys from evil all the time. It makes it hard for me to trust others. I’m in a small Christian moms group with young kids. I think this is just what we have been looking for! I hope we win so we can all benefit from your teachings!!!

  7. I have a hard time trusting God with my future. I thought that I had found where I was to be for the rest of my working life with room to grow in that organization. Now I am not sure this office I am in right now is where I need to be or am supposed to be.

  8. I have a hard time trusting, and leaving to God, my kids. I am so concerned for their future and their choice of friends and a future spouse. Micromanaging is a real temptation too!

  9. I am struggling in several areas of my life. However, I believe the struggles all stem from a single decision made in my early twenties. I find it difficult to trust that God can forgive me and therefore, I am anxious, distracted, fearful and angry. The impact is far-reaching and it is a never-ending mental battle.

    Thank you for touching so many lives with your testimony. I hope that one day, I will have the strength to impact others with mine.

  10. I have a hard time trusting God with the finances. Money stresses me out. He has always proven faithful though yet I still seem to fret.

  11. I have had continual health problems since I had a heart attack 6 years ago. Now due to chronic pain and forgetfulness my career is in jeopardy, and I am the breadwinner. I pray and praise God in the mornings, but it gets challenging as the pain and problems come throughout the day. I would love to win, but only need prayers! May God bless you and your ministry!

  12. I am having a hard time trusting God to give me clear direction in caring for my Mother who has Alzheimer’s Disease. The problem is not with my Mom but my siblings. There are six of us and all have different ideas of what is the right care of our Mother. It would be a blessing to have these DVDs for all of us to listen to and learn how to trust God.

  13. I have a hard time trusting God with my daughters and their futures, as well as the choices they will make. I think it may be partly due to the world we live in…full of temptations, danger and evil-doers. God is so much bigger, and I believe in His sovereignty, so it should be easy to trust Him will all things. Need to get that head-knowledge changed to heart-knowledge. :)

  14. Karen, I have the hardest time trusting God with my everyday – is that too broad an answer? I’ve recently realized (or been smacked in the face with) the truth that I am a control freak. I have good reason – what with my type A personality and my impeccable organization skills (I can whip anyone into good, organizational shape!) – married into a type B family (ahhhh!). But my “tool” of being organized and type A has crossed over into a sinful desire to control everyone and all of my circumstances – including what people think about me (tall order there!). So my everyday – letting go of the death grip I have on my life and day to day plans – is my challenge in trusting God. But He helps me for sure! And things are slowly progressing – imperfect progress as I’ve read. :) If I win the study, I will be approaching my church to host a group in my home sometime – I know I’d love to delve deeper and I’m sure some of my sisters would too.

    1. You could have basically wrote the words that are in my head. God has recently smacked me in the face with the realization that I, too am a control freak. Wanting to put my kids in bubbles and fix their problems. We are going through struggles right now because I am having a hard time letting go of the control. Great post!!

  15. Just when I become “proud” of myself for letting go of control of one area, “wham”…another stronghold shows up! Of all the areas mentioned already, for me, the most challenging area is my emotional health. I have a tendency to depend on God’s strength through all sorts of crises, then when things are better, I melt into a puddle of exhaustion,self-pity & temporary depression. I hope this study can help me learn to surrender all my feelings and trust Him to bring me back to that wonderful place of peace, harmony and freedom from debilitating emotions.

  16. For me, control is a difficult area. Whether it be with my children, husband, or current situations. I get panicked and overwhelmed.

  17. This book is for me….my son a teenager is consistently testing the boundaries and my patience unlike his sister. He knows the buttons to push to make me lose it and instead of speaking in the way I should….the “loud talking” begins. This sounds great.

  18. Current circumstances. I’m usually fine with future, big picture things, but the everyday can get grueling. As a pastor’s wife I get weary, easily, from the day in – day out immaturity of fellow believers. Like me! Ha – lol… :)

  19. I’m admit I’m a control freak. Luckily for me, my husband is pretty laid back & lets me take charge. I struggle with my adult children. I see them making mistakes & they don’t want to listen to me. I take it so personal, that its my fault when they fail, that somehow I did something wrong while they were growing up. I know I did make one big mistake & I hope it’s not too late & I need to trust God to make up for it. I didn’t introduce my children to God, but I’m doing my best now & spend time in prayer every day asking for God to help me.

  20. I, too, want to control the ridiculous decisions my child continues to make, unfortunately, not learning lessons quick enough for me. :( And to be honest, I am not trusting God to handle the situations with financial situations/job situation for my husband approaching retirement age/etc. I guess, in a nutshell, I don’t want to give up control of anything. I still want to be a control freak.

  21. My son was taken from us at the age of 18 in a horrible car accident. My biggest issue is understanding why this happened. I have lost my faith, trust, and belief that God is there for me. I need help getting back on track and being able to grasp why this horrible tragedy ever happened.

  22. It is difficult to admit that I worry and feel lost so much when in my heart I have my faith in God and know that I need to fully trust and let it all go. It is such a struggle for me and right now I am being tested. My husband lost his job and we have an ill family member so the stress level at home is high. I find myself trying to be the strength and holding things together but inside I am falling apart. I want to just turn it all over, let it go in His hands and just be worry-free knowing that He will take care of us. The big questions is how do I do that? I pray and pray and say the words, then not too long after, I find myself crunching the numbers, thinking about everything that can go wrong, etc. Where is the trust in that? I am definitely working on this, I know God hears me and knows me and will work in my heart.

  23. I struggle with trusting God for healing because I have been believing and praying for it for years. However, I will keep on believing and praying for it. #faith

  24. You’re devotion today was wonderful , I felt it was directed right toward me. I really have had a hard time lately because it just feels like everything around me is chaotic and lately I have struggled with keeping my cool. I know what’s right and expected of me by God but like you said a messy house that seems to swallow up my day trying to see a glimps of clean, raising 7 small children and all while trying to be a godly example to my unbelieving spouse is tiring … I know I have a wrong desire to control everything and sometimes with my husband the desire to play holy spirit in his life… I want to trust God and give him control in areas I can’t. Just like you said the flesh wants to be satisfied and my flesh has little patience. I would really love a copy.. It’s amazing to finally see your book published all the surveys of trying to decide on a name :) I think you picked the perfect one . Thank you for

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