Because of God's great love.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.”  Remembering a dear friend who danced her way into Heaven two years ago today.  She taught me about the kind of person that I wanted to be. I am a better person for having known her.  I am so thankful to God for the gift of her friendship. I am forever changed because of her friendship and influence on my life.   

My life verses come from Lamentations 3:21-23, 32-33 “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.”  In the past 2 years I have experienced God’s love, grace and healing in so many ways.  It has been a journey, that is for sure.  Yet, it has been a journey, that I would never change.  

My heart and body have known deep pain… But today I testify that God has been very faithful.  He has proven his love over and over again, to someone who at times doubted God and His goodness.  He has brought healing to places in my life that at times when I lost hope, I truly felt these places would never heal. I felt hopeless about finding relief from the excruciating pain in my back.  For the last 8 months I have experienced such a reduction in pain, that I can once again function in my day to day activities.  God has healed a grieving heart that questioned if I would ever want to “go deep” in my friendships and relationships again.  God taught me to see people and situations through his eyes. His compassions never failed!  Great is His faithfulness!  His love never failed! God is so very good!  I am a better person today, I am closer to God today, My love for him has grown to a depth I never knew existed because of the journey that he has walked with me on and many times carried me through.  I am trying to find words for something that my heart cannot express and I think that is ok….. 

I am going to let this song speak for me today. 

Overflowing With Thanksgiving

Colossians 2:7 – “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.” 

I am overflowing with thanksgiving this week!  For the better part of the last year and a half I have had very intense pain in my back. This year I have had Dr. appointments every 2 to 4 weeks at a pain clinic. Many times I prayed (begged, pleaded with God) to take away the pain - to heal me.  After all of this doctoring we were left with one option. About a month ago I underwent a procedure that burned the nerve roots, so that I would not feel the "pain" that is still there. It worked!  I have been given relief from the pain.  I am SO grateful for this feeling of being pain free.  It is amazing how pain can change your outlook and your "feeling" about life in general. Many times I felt forgotten by God. Many times I wondered where he was and why didn't he "fix it"?  But I can tell you today... God does care. GOD IS FAITHFUL. 

This experience with pain, has been a growing experience for me. God became so real to me, even though my prayers seemed to be "unanswered".  I look back through my journal and realize He answered my prayers, in ways I didn't understand, but now as I look back I see it. 

As I mentioned before, a nerve was burned interrupting the message that was being sent to my brain telling it that my back hurt.  As I think about that, I think about God protects us in life from things that would hurt us.  There are experiences in life that would surely change our lives if they were allowed to impact our lives. However, I believe that God puts a hedge around us many times to protect us, a hedge that is unseen, but still there. Psalm 91 tells of us God's protecting arm around us, when it says among many things that "[God] will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands."  I encourage you to read Psalm 91 today and see what it means to you today. 

I leave you with this song today, it has given me strength and encouragement many times.  Chris Tomlin "I Lift My Hands"  Praying that you will know that God is love and God cares today, in whatever area of your life you need to see it. 

Trust

“I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.”  Psalm 17:6

Lately, I have been realizing how powerful it is to know God’s Word and hide it in your heart.  I have memorized many verses in my lifetime, but never really realized the blessing of that until these past few years.

Trust has always been a hard thing for me and it still is, but in the past year I have been amazed at how God has taken care of our family.  In this tough economic time, we owned 2 houses. [If someone would have told me 2 years ago that 1) we would own 2 houses for 15 months, 2) I would not be working for part of that time, but we would be ok – I seriously think that I would not have believed them.] We bought the second house truly believing that God was telling us to do so. We moved over a year ago, and just recently sold our other house!  [Yep, that’s a big PRAISE THE LORD! ]  God provided in ways we would have never anticipated.  He showed up every time there was a need, sometimes very clearly and other times we realized it later. 

God increased my trust in Him through this difficult year.  Many times I doubted that we would be ok, I worried that we would lose everything.  We prayed and we begged God to  “move” – to do something, to show us he was there. We truly believed we had been obedient to Him.  At times I even doubted that God knew our situation and wondered if He even cared.  I have realized in the last few months that God was increasing my trust in Him.  God always hears our prayers. I picture Him bending close to me to listen to the prayers that are whispered out of desperation or pain. God will always answer our prayers in His time and in His way.

My heart has found peace in knowing that God knows our needs. He knows my kid’s needs.  And He has it all figured out.  

Remembering Who I Am

Several times in the last few days, the same verse has been given to me.  "He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way." (Psalm 25:9, NLT)  That verse was mentioned in 3 of 5 email devotionals that I received yesterday.  Then today this one: "The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God's help be encouraged." (Psalm 69:32 NLT)

I have been feeling lately, like I have become something I am not.  Like things are just not in sync, like something is missing and I have become someone that is really not me, not the "me" that God intends me to be. I think sometimes life has a way of throwing us a curve ball, that seems to make us chase the ball rather than focus on the goal.  We go off on some "tangent" and suddenly, it's like how did I get here?  I can not tell you for sure, how many times in recent months I have said those words in regards to my life or situations around me. Then this comes: "He leads the humble, teaching them His way" and "the humble will see God at work" and "Let all who seek God's help be encouraged".

I want to see God at work in my life and all around me.  I want to walk in HIS way, not my way.  I want to be encouraged and be an encourager.  That is what I so love about God, no matter where we are, He is there.  No matter what we do, He is there.  He molds us, and shapes us into what He wants.  He allows us the freedom of choice.  When we choose unwisely He is there - when we turn back and run hard after Him.  Humility is the key.  If we are proud, we can not be taught or led. Humility is what I seek.... and God knew that I needed to be reminded of that.

Looking Back. Moving Forward.

This past week I have “re-lived” memories from a year ago.  This year, I find it interesting that last week was Holy week.  April 18-25, 2010 seemed to be a very holy week, too, as I spent that week in the hospital with a friend who was battling cancer.  There were many times when God was so clearly present in her hospital room. My heart still hurts when I think about her and the memories that we shared.  Many of the biggest memories we shared, we never really got to talk about them again here on earth. I know that someday we will be able to do that.  What a blessing those memories are today.  

A scripture that God gave to her and I in that last week was 2 Timothy 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."   I imagine what those first moments in Heaven were like.  I imagine how it must have taken her breath away to see and experience all of it. I imagine how it felt when God put his arms around her as He welcomed her home.  I imagine her joy in receiving a new healthy, pain free body.  I imagine what she looks like with her crown.  

In November 2010, I was able to share the story of Deanna and my friendship with a group of women. The beauty of the honesty, love and openness that Deanna and I shared in our friendship.  The laughter, the tears (and sometimes we cried and laughed at the same time). God used her and I in each others lives to make both of us better people.  God used a community of believers – “Jesus lovers” - to impact her life and mine to make each of us better people.   God used each one in that community of friends to draw each other closer to Him.  

When I was finished talking to these women about this story, a group of friends were praying for me and one of them said “God, you grew her (Nancy) up this year.”  And that phrase has gone around and around in my head.  It is really so true.  God opened up a deeper place within me that is a place where God and I often “go”.  A place that I didn’t know existed until this experience.  And it's not really something that I can put into words today.  But I know that God taught me things I would have never known about Him, about loving from the heart, about His grace, about serving others, about His love, about trusting Him enough to let go....had it not been for this experience with Deanna. 

I still miss Deanna today.  However, it's a different kind of "miss you" feeling.  I would never wish for her back, when I think of the pain that she was in.  Life does go on.  It has to.  We can not live our lives holding on to the past and expect to move forward.  That's the difference in the how I miss her today.  It is not in a grieving type way that I miss her.  I miss her.  I miss talking to her, I miss seeing her, I miss hearing her laugh (usually her laughter was at me about something I had done or said)  :)   I am ok.  I know that she is ok.  And I WILL see her some day and that is what I hold on to as I look forward to that day. 

Enough Evidence to “Convict”.

The evidence piled up.  It didn’t matter where I looked - I saw it.  Evidence of changed lives.  Evidence of God’s love.  Evidence of God’s grace.  If this were a court case where someone was accused of being loving and serving beyond “reason” – we would have won by a landslide!

 I worked at a retreat this past weekend and I have to say it was one of the best weekends of my life. Seeing God in everything and everywhere. The fingerprints of His work. The messages that said “I am here.” I still wonder what God felt like KNOWING the “surprise” He was going to spring on us through a song that “suddenly” played as the pastor was talking to us about how we leave such an unforgettable weekend and go back to our daily lives? The pastor was rolling the radio dial showing us the static and mixed up messages that would surround us when we go home. Suddenly the radio played a song loud and clear – beginning with these words:

“Jesus carry me,

You Are strength in my weakness

You are the refuge I seek

You are everything in my time of need

You are everything, You are everything I need”

[Song by Kutless: Everything I Need]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kifknSsvFVk

God must have smiled from ear to ear! I imagine that he called his angels around him, just to watch this scene unfold.



There were many stories of lives that were so broken and so messed up – then God entered. When God enters in He makes all things new. We are all on our own separate journey. And sometimes life is just hard.  No other way to say it.  I don't know who said this but "God never promised life would not be hard, but he did promise we would not be alone."  We, as people going through life together, might experience the same things in our lives, but at different times. God has his own time table for each of us. He has His own plan and everything is in HIS time.

I saw evidence of His plan unfolding in many lives this past weekend. I saw evidence of people extending (and receiving) grace and love. I saw God at work in such a way that it has left my heart burning to be more intentional in my walk with Him, serve Him and be His hands and feet to others as God’s plan unfolds in my life and theirs.

The theme verse for the weekend was Luke 24:32 -

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

The weekend retreat left me with a holy and I hope incurable heartburn for God and a desire to share God’s love with others as we walk along the road together - through life.

A Child Shall Lead Them

“Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day!” I read the words and my heart stopped as my body felt a cold sweat. Reading the words you would never have guessed that the birthday girl had “uninvited” her to the party that most of the girls in her class went to. I was not able to say those words to the birthday girl…. But this young lady could. And when I asked her about it, she said… “Well, I hope that she did, it was her birthday after all.”


I looked at this young girl on the threshold of her teen years. All I could think of was Isaiah 11:6 – “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.”

I have watched her grow from this tiny little baby girl, who followed 3 older brothers. I have watched her go through 5 years of ridicule, because she had to have her 4 front teeth removed and she had the 1st grade “all gums” smile all those years. I have watched her be stepped on, pushed out and excluded, bouncing from one friend to another, trying to find a safe place to land. A safe place to share her heart. A place that could be trusted. This mother’s heart ripped and tore each time that she was hurt… it seemed I felt it 10 times worse than she did. She bounced back each time.

She found that safe place in the past year. She found it in 3 young ladies who have found the friend in her that I knew was there all along. They found in her someone who made them laugh and cared and brought joy to their lives. She found a home for her thoughts, feelings and her heart.

But more importantly she found a “forever” place to land in the One who binds our wounds and heals the broken-hearted. She found the One who loves her unconditionally. She found the One who loves her just the way she is… because He created her just the way she is. That was His plan all along. I have had the wonderful privilege of watching her grow into such a beautiful young woman with a heart like her Father’s. With eyes that see what others don’t see. With a heart that loves in ways that amaze me. With a forgiving spirit that outshines me many times.

She will walk out the door to school this morning. She will walk back into the school where the school week ended 3 days ago in much pain for her. She will be ok, I know. Because she has an army of people praying for her today. She has a Father who “will command his angels concerning [her] to guard [her] in all your ways.”

As I was typing that last sentence I found out from my very excited son that school has been cancelled today (due to the ice we are experiencing here). Isn’t God good? To give her one more day? To give things one more day for the excitement of the party to calm down?

Father, thank you for your love and care over us. How everything that happens to us in this life, only comes to us after it has been through your hands. You planned our days long ago; you knew where each of us would be this day, at this time. You knew what we would be experiencing right now at this moment. Thank you for being the God we read about in Psalm 91, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 103 and many more Psalms that speak to the needs in our lives and the praise that overflows from our hearts. We love you so…

Pulled From The Pit

"Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name….He redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”   Psalm 103:1,4

“Back to reality”.  That was the status of a friend of mine on Facebook this morning.  What is reality?  It was 6 months ago today that my dear friend, Deanna, lost her battle with cancer, but gained victory over death.  Those of us who loved her had our reality changed, we have a new reality.   For me, it has been a very different 6 months.  I have sunk to the pit of depression, though few people knew it, because I really isolated myself from other people.  The pain was very deep, much deeper than I imagined it would be.  And I let very few people into my life, withdrawing from many people.

Recently I was asked to share the story of our friendship with a group of women.  I realized during the writing of that talk, that God has healed me much more than I even realized.  Right after Deanna died, I vowed I would never become that close to someone again.  It was just too painful to think about.  The pain of losing someone that you love so much and was such a big part of your life was much greater than I even realized. 

Two days ago as I shared this story with these women and spent time with these good friends as we prepare for a spiritual weekend that we are working at in a few weeks.  I realized the truth of the words that Alfred Lord Tennyson's wrote:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all

I am humbled and amazed at the realization over the weekend that God has healed my broken heart much more than I even imagined.  I rejoice that I have felt that love, even though I “lost” it (for a time).  As I laughed, talked and cried with these women, I realized I had let people into my hurt and it felt good to share that and feel the love and care from them.  But more importantly as we laughed and talked (and with some of them we even “chased” the clouds that were swirling in the sky :D) – I discovered that I had let people back in and it felt good.  God had healed my broken heart.  And that this same group of women that were my Christian community last spring, as they prayed for Deanna (and I) were truly still that today.  

I have no reason to go through life, hiding my hurt, fearing the next hurt (or making SURE it doesn’t happen).  God does not want that for any of us.  We were created to be in community with others and  when we truly experience that type of love and care from people we are living a part of the Christian life that God truly desires for us.  What a gift.  I was going to end this with the hope that you experience this today. But on second thought…. I hope that you ARE Christ’s love to someone else today.

The Peace God Provides

John 14:27


Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.


We moved to another house in July, still in our same town, just a different house. When we bought this house, we felt very strongly that God was leading us to this house, for the purpose of giving people who needed “shelter” and place to stay. The economy is still not the best in our area and the housing market has been in “park” for about 6 months now, so we currently own 2 houses. Our kids have long begged for a home at “the lakes” (about an hour from us) and we have always told them that ‘no, we can’t afford 2 houses”. Now we own 2 houses so they are wondering why we have said we can’t and now we do. Our answer? Just because we do, doesn’t mean we can. *smile*


Throughout the past few months I have had my doubts, times of fear, times when I questioned whether we did the right thing, times of an absence of peace in my life. Then Ju Chan arrived in the US and needed a home and without question we knew he was supposed to live with us. We did not want to receive anything financially for allowing Ju Chan to live with us, however, his father insisted and wired money to us for Ju Chan’s care. God provided. Last week a man that we attended college with us contacted us, he needs a place to rent in our town during the week, would we rent our home to him? God provided.  Two days ago I began a new job.  This one is fewer hours and more pay.  God provided.  We made the first double house payment last week and I am truly stand amazed at how God is providing for us in tangible ways. Why am I so amazed? God’s deepest desire is to love and care for his children. God’s deepest desire is to deepen my relationship with him.


After a few “quiet” weeks with only one showing, we have had 3 showings in the past two days. As I opened the house yesterday for the realtors, I realized I have complete peace right now with this situation. God knows. He knows my needs. He knows the plan. He does not promise an absence of hardship in our lives, He promises that HE will never be absent.

The Least of These

Three weeks ago today we welcomed a young man into our home from Seoul, South Korea. We had first heard of this young man 3 days before when our church sent out an email with a special request for a young man (22 yrs old) who had arrived in the United States earlier that day to attend the college where my husband is employed. He had arrived that day on campus with his younger brother (15 yrs old), who was registered to attend the high school that our kids attend. However because of “glitch” in communication - there had been no housing arrangements made for the younger brother.

I read the email from our church while on a break at work. I immediately thought that I needed to talk to my husband (Mike) about that. 45 minutes later Mike stopped in at my work and asked if I had received an email. I said yes, and he said without hesitation, “I think we need to do that.”

We had almost full and immediate support from our kids on this decision. In explaining it to them we used these verses from Matthew 25:35-36 -- For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

We have 2 sons the same ages as Ju Chan and his brother. Mike and I could very easily place ourselves into their situation and wanted to do what we would want people to do for our family if the situation was reversed.

It has been an interesting 3 weeks since Ju Chan arrived to our home. We took a “crash course” in the Korean culture (a.k.a. surf the web), so that we could better welcome him to the US and to our family. We have tried to teach him about the way we live and the American culture. And at times it does seem overwhelming.  The language barrier has been just that at times… a barrier.

It is amazing to me - the things that we say or do (as Americans) that really make very little sense and sound even more odd to have to explain to someone who really has no idea what something means. For example: I believe I really scared Ju Chan two weeks ago when I told him it was not a problem at all for me to “run him over” to his brother. You might understand what I meant by that (drive him over to his brother). But the look on Ju Chan’s face told me he HOPED he did not hear me correctly.

Many things have come back to me from my past that are helping me today. The many trips that I took to the country of Honduras, leading mission trips for teens, has been very helpful in learning to communicate without words or with very few words, where there is a communication barrier.

Actions speak loudly in some situations.  I am reminded of the quote by St. Francis of Assisi -- “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”  As I said in the previous post: what do my actions say to others, about who Jesus is?

We are making progress with Ju Chan and our family is learning a lot of different things through this whole experience.  Such as: after Ju Chan made us a Korean meal two weeks ago -- Koreans prefer that their food be VERY spicy.  I think my lips/mouth burned for two days after that meal. :)
 
Despite the ability to communicate with him clearly, our kids have taken him in as a sibling and have become very protective of him.  I ask for your prayers for Ju Chan as he continues to adjust to living here in the U.S. and for our family as we continue to adjust to adding him to our family. Thanks!

Matthew 25:40 - The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Who Do You Say That I Am?

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.

Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

- Mohandas Gandhi

The email came from a friend of mine, with the subject line: “Here’s where I always have a problem”…. So I knew it was going to be another good discussion with her. Even though she never actually said the quote, her email ran along the lines of this famous quote by Mohanda Gandhi. I’ve been thinking about this email and quote ever since I received it. We did have a great discussion, too.

This email and conversation with my friend also raised a lot of questions in my mind, things I have been “chewing” on ever since. These questions have convicted me to take a look at myself. How is that people can claim to be followers of Christ and yet, not look one bit like Him? I know that there have been times when I looked NOTHING like Christ, in my actions or words…. And I never paused to think about how others might see Christ, if I claimed to be a follower of Christ.

At youth group the other night we talked about a theme for year. We listened to several songs and read some scriptures to go with the songs. We were searching for a theme for our year… who do we want to be known as? What does it mean to “live the life”? What does it mean to BE Christian? What does it mean to love as Jesus loved? One of the songs we listened to was Lincoln Brewster’s new song “Reaching For You” [Video quality not the best, but you can hear the song quite well]. A great discussion followed that song on how these kids sometimes feel “persecuted” for going to the church that they go to or being labeled some type of Jesus Freak when they live with integrity. It was at this time that a very wise young man said: do you think people even realize that they need God? That statement blew me away.

How often do I live like God really doesn’t matter?

How often do I live like I don’t really need God?

How often do I live like all that really matters is "today"?

How many times do I confuse people who really need to see Jesus in my life, by living in a way that they do not see Jesus in me?

Our words and actions are on display. They “tell” who Jesus is to those who know I am a Christian and to those who do not know I am a Christian. What is my life saying about Jesus? What picture do other people see?



[The Lincoln Brewster video is from last weekend at Lifelight - a free 3 day music festival located about an hour from me.]

Yahweh

Yahweh – A friend of mine had a life changing experience on an Iowa highway a year and a half ago. While listening to a favorite Chris Tomlin song “Yahweh”, she was involved in a head-on collision. The accident left her with a “Y” shaped scar on her leg. [Sidenote: I love how she titled the blog entry "The 'Y' Scar" - how many times don't we ask "Why?" in regards to our 'scars'?]  You can read more about her scar here.  Since the accident she sees the world differently.  Yahweh saved her life, and she now sees the letter “Y” in many different places. Her God story has influenced me and I, too, look for “Y”’s. 

My oldest son, Ryan, is in Alaska this summer, serving as a volunteer at Victory Ministries of Alaska. He spends each day capturing the experiences and memories in pictures and video for the camp. During his free time, he does a lot of hiking and is taking some beautiful pictures! This morning, as I was looking at new pictures that Ryan posted on his Facebook page,  I began to see a “Y” in many of the pictures. The mountains seemed to bow down in worship, singing their praises to God, revealing God’s glory. A few words kept going through my mind as I scanned through the pictures of all that God has created for us to enjoy! “ From the beginning of time…. Yahweh, YOU reign forever, age to age You are still the same. Beautiful! Glory and praise to YOU, oh God!”

Psalm 72:19 – “Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.”

Lamentations 5:19 - “You, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.”

A song written by Hillsong entitled “Yahweh” came to my mind and as I looked at Ryan’s pictures this morning I listened to that song. I found myself breathless - in awe at the beauty of all the things that God has created for us to enjoy. Yahweh (Jehovah) – the God who provides and protects. The God who will never leave us. The God who is everything that we need. The God who satisfies us. The God who heals us. The God who brings beauty from the ashes. The God who creates all things for HIS glory – including you and I.

I pray that throughout your day, you will experience times when Yahweh leaves you breathless at the beauty of His creation.  Consider that this God - who created all things - is the same God then as now and this God delights in YOU and absolutely loves when you "see" Him all around you.

On Loving "Them"

Differences – Something has been on my mind the past few days. I recently heard a comment having to do with accepting other people who believe (if they believe) differently that I do. How do we accept them? I think the better question is why would we NOT accept them? God’s love and grace is for “them” just as it is for me. While on earth Jesus did not make any distinctions between the “good” people and the “bad” people. He didn’t make distinctions between what people believed or didn’t believe. What people did or didn’t do. He loved - all people right where they were, as they were. He didn’t approach others to necessarily address the differences, he saw others as people and found the similarities. I know that is what he calls us to do.


So my response to the question: How do we accept “them”? Find the common threads that you have with others, start there. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 9.   When we look for the common threads that we have with another person, God has the opportunity to piece together a beautiful tapestry. The beauty will only be seen once we have taken the time to sew together a few of the strands that we have in common. I know that I would not be who I am today, had I not taken the time to get to know people who in many ways are not like me. I am thankful for those that saw me as someone who was different than them, yet took the time to develop the common threads that we had. Secondly, I think we need to get rid of the “us” and “them” language. Let’s be “us” together on the same journey. Love as you want to be loved. Grace as you want to be “graced”. Forgive as you want to be forgiven.” For you and I were once “them” to “them” and still today are “them” to some.

Still Standing

I know... it's been a while.  I’ve been in a “funk” lately. I hate funks. They are easy to slip into and hard to get out of. I was spending more time listening to the words that are untrue and less time listening to the Voice of Truth. I felt lonely and down, so what did I do? I withdrew from people. Honestly I think that is the dumbest thing to do. But more often than not it is the easiest thing to do… sometimes it just seems it takes too much energy to get in touch with people or to talk about what you’re feeling.

Eventually, I did share honestly with someone how lonely I was and how worthless I felt. She set me straight in no uncertain terms - her words were laced with a ton of love and truth. Satan knows where to shoot his arrows into each of us. He knows where we are weak. He knows what will paralyze us. He knows what will stop us, sometimes before we even “start”. He is on the look-out for those he can devour. He seeks to kill and destroy.

I found the words in 1 Peter 5 very interesting. Verse 7 begins with telling us where to put our worry. “Cast all your anxiety on Him [Jesus]”. Then Peter goes on to say something that at first appeared odd to me. “Be self-controlled and alert.” But when I thought about that, it means don’t let your mind wander and make up things that are not there. Don’t let things that are not true, become “truth” to you. Keep control of your mind and your thoughts, don’t let it wander and begin to believe things that simply are not true. Be alert. Satan realizes if he can "destroy" a Christian today that is for sure one less person he needs to worry about impacting the world for God. [We do know that we have the victory over Satan, praise the Lord, his attacks are temporary, God's kingdom is eternal!]

Ephesians 6 gives us the best advice we will ever get on how to fight off Satan’s attacks and schemes. Verse 11 “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” Use everything that God gives to fight off the attacks that are sure to come. It’s a choice to put on the armor that God gives. Finally, so that you can STAND. The word “stand” is used 4 times within 3 verses. Another verse uses the word ‘stand’. 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

These are important words for our lives today. Cast. Be Self-controlled. Alert. Put on. Stand. And most importantly: stay in the “pack”, don’t be found alone and on your own. We need each other! Who needs you today? Or is it you that needs someone today?

De-clutter Your Life

About a month ago, I wrote about “Treasures of the Heart”. Since that time our family has bought another house. Buying another house, means that we need to sell our house. This also means we need to de-clutter our house and get rid of some of the junk that has accumulated over the years.

So for one week we worked to got rid of some of the things that we could “never do without out” or “never part with”. We are now living in an uncluttered house, a house that is clean and free of the junk that just took up space, but had no purpose. I believe that we need to do this regularly, rather than every 10 years or so. My husband and I helped each other in deciding what each of us no longer needed. We had to remind each other of that several times. He would say to me: why would you keep that? And I would have to answer with a “good enough” reason. In the end we both realized if we hadn’t used it in a year and it was not a holiday item – pitch it! De-cluttering is so freeing and you will find yourself in a place of less stuff, more space and a place for everything that you really do need to keep.

It was amazing to me the stuff we had accumulated. The things that in the past were a treasure. But, as we worked our way through cleaning out our closets, we wondered “why did we keep this?” Or even worse “What is it?” :)

Isn’t that how our spiritual lives can be, too? We keep the old “treasures”. Hold onto things that seem to have so much value or maybe just something we cannot let go of. So we pack up these memories, these events, sometimes these are painful memories or events. But we pack up these “things” that we cling to. We put them in boxes and store them in closets of our lives. “Just in case” or “maybe someday”.


I believe that periodically it is good to unpack the boxes of our personal and spiritual lives and make some decisions. We all have things that we keep in the “box of our life” that really don’t need to be in our lives. In regards to these things consider this: Does it serve a good purpose? Is it a necessity for my life? Does it really need to be kept?

Maybe with the help of someone who knows you well, I would encourage you to periodically unpack the things in your “lifebox”. Make some tough decisions and then get rid of the things that are just filling your life, but are not beneficial to your life. The things that just take up space and keep us bound to something that has no real meaning. The painful events and memories that we hang onto, when it would be so much better to let them go and move on.

De-clutter your life. I really believe you will be glad that you did.

Andrew

I shed a tear or two last week for my son, Andy. We were privileged to hear his Senior presentation [a time when the student shares his high school experience with his parents] Also, this past Sunday we celebrated his public profession of his faith in God.   [Andy is wearing the orange and black shirt in the picture.]  My heart was exploding with gladness and gratefulness to the One who changes our lives and enters our heart when we ask him to. Andy is named in part for the disciple Andrew in the Bible. Andrew appears very few times in the Bible, yet almost all of those times he is bringing someone to Jesus. [Wouldn’t that be a neat thing to be remembered for?]

Andy’s life verse is Jeremiah 29:11-14 – “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD.” We prayed for Andy to seek hard after God. And he did. However, God also sought Andy. He came looking for Andy. He drew Andy to Himself. While we prayed - God was at work. God is faithful.

The name Andrew means “strong, manly, warrior” and trust me when I say this - he has lived out that name.   Andy has always been strong-willed, in the good sense and in the “not so good” sense. He has always cared for people and been a compassionate person, to those who were hurting. He has made people laugh with a smart comment or funny story. Andy has also been a warrior and I have cried for him as I watched him battle some things in life, things that were very challenging for him to walk through.

Andy graduates from high school in two days. He plans to pursue a double major in Digital Media Production and Computer Science. A magnet on my fridge says this: “There are two things you give your children: one is roots, the other is wings.” We gave him roots and now it’s time for us to give him his wings.

Andy: go out and do everything for God’s glory. Use the gifts God has given you to bless others and to help others see God. God knows the plans He has for you, Andy. Continue to call on Him and pray to Him. Continue to seek Him with all your heart and know that I will be here praying. Love you, Andy. Love, mom

More Than Conquerors

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” -- Romans 8:35


It is interesting to me that this verse starts out with “who” and ends with several forms of “what”. All of the things listed are not things that would come from God, but we know that they are a result of sin in the world. And I believe that the “who” here is satan.

Think with me about Job 1 and 2 – where a conversation occurs between God and satan. Job is not even aware of this conversation, but he definitely feels the impact of this conversation. He suffered tremendous loss! He suffered tremendous pain. He experienced things that went against God’s character and did not fit with what he knew to be God’s character. Job came to a crisis of faith and belief in God. Through it all, Job is “put to the test” and out of the ashes he rises. The book of Job tells us that Job never “charged God with wrongdoing”.

I wonder today how many times conversations go on between God and satan, where I am the center of the conversation? I may never know, however, I have the “privilege” of having read Job 1, to know that this conversation between God and satan did occur. Job did not have that. In the book of Romans, chapter 8, Paul uses powerful words to answer his own question about “who can separate us from the love of Christ?” Pauls says: “NO! In all things we are MORE than conquerors!” “For I am convinced…” “Nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God”

If, today you find yourself in the midst of what seems like a “train wreck” in your life. If you are dealing with things that are causing you to question all that you know to believe and understand about God and his character… take comfort and be encouraged by these verses from Romans 8. The temporary things of this life will not separate you from the Creator of all things. God is love and He loves you so much more than you can imagine. And you never know - but there may very well have been a conversation about you. Lean into God’s loving arms. Let him carry you through this time in your life and use the strength he gives to help you rise above the “train wreck” and be more than a conqueror!

Treasures of the Heart

Her words hit my core. “Letting go is so hard”. In Ecclesiastes 3 it says “there is a time for everything.” For me personally, the past couple of years have consisted of “letting go” of one thing or another. Letting go of habits. Letting go of pain. Letting go of my plans. Letting go of people. Letting go of the “trophy’s” of this life. Letting go of the identity that I had. Letting go of old regrets. Letting go of bitterness. Letting go of misconceptions about someone else. Letting go of resentment. And, yes, I have found that letting go is so hard. There is a time for everything. Even a time to “let go”. Some things were harder to let go of, than others. I do not see what God sees. God sees from the beginning to the end. He sees “the whole scope”.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” God’s word tells us that there is a time for everything and God makes it beautiful “for its own time”.

But oftentimes I am a like a little kid that doesn’t want to share a toy. I am not about to let go of something that is “MINE”. I fight and I cling and I hold onto it as long as I can. When I try to store up treasures here on earth, sometimes it gets downright ugly. Yes, it is hard to let go. I would be lying if I said I love letting go of things that I have long desired or become very attached to.

Matthew 6 tells us "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” God has planted eternity into our hearts. He created us to desire and yearn for eternity with him. I need to daily remind myself to let go of the treasures I have here. The things that I think give my life purpose. The things I think I need to fulfill my life. The things I give my heart to. For where my heart is…you will also find what I treasure. I think it is time for a treasure hunt.

Love Is...

Where does the time go? We were very young as we stood in the front of that church that day in May 1984. Each 20 years old. We said our vows: For better, for worse. In richer and in poorer. In sickness and in health. We promised to encourage each other to develop the gifts God has given us. We said: “I love you”. Then we said “I do.” And we stepped into our future together. Not really understanding what true love really is or even more so the verses we had chosen for our wedding day, from Colossians 3.

These well known verses from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 give us a glimpse of what love is. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Today I have a much better understanding of what love really is, because of these past 26 years.Real life helps us begin to understand what love is.  Real life helps us learn to love in the way God desires. 

Love is sacrifice. Love is not just a “feeling”. Love is crying together. Love is praying together for that much desired child. Love is celebrating that new job. Love is saying I am sorry [no matter what the movie “Love Story” said]. Love is saying I forgive you. Love is rejoicing over the birth of each child God gives you. Love is compromise. Love is compassion. Love is kindness. Love is realizing that we all make mistakes and showing grace when someone else does, or receiving it when you do. Love is humility. Love is gentle. Love is putting yourself in their shoes. Love is encouraging someone to be all that God has made them to be. Love is putting the other first. Love grows silently, and suddenly you realize you would never want to be without that person.

Today my husband and I celebrate 26 years of marriage. We have had many reasons to rejoice, we have had some sorrow, some pain and some trials. Today I know without a doubt that I would do it all over again. Thank you, Mike, for walking this journey with me. I love you.