Hustle, bustle, rush and run
Santa’s on his way!
Buy the gifts, brave the crowds,
For soon it’s Christmas Day!
The tree is up, the lights are on,
Decorations are in place.
Send out the cards, bake the treats,
It’s a frantic Christmas race!
Aunts and uncles, family, friends
Joy is in the air!
But why the celebration?
Why parties everywhere?
The story is quite humble.
No ribbons, bags or bows.
The reason for our Christmas,
Is a child not everybody knows.
He was birthed in a stable
Filled with animals that smelled,
To very young and frightened parents
Who knew exactly the babe they held.
Did they think it would be different
To be the parents of a king?
Adorned with royal garb and dwelling,
To never lack a thing?
What went through their minds that night?
In that stable all alone?
Did they wonder what God was thinking
To have His son born so unknown?
Yet there were some who knew
That a Savior had been born.
Angels gazed with wide-eyed wonder
At His precious, little form.
Then some shepherds and some wise men
Led by those angels and a star
Searched so very fervently
To find this child—how bizarre...
Have we searched and have we wondered
About what’s buried underneath
All those piles of gifts and ribbons,
Those trees and Christmas wreaths?
It’s the hero of our story,
The one of whom we all should sing.
For that humble little baby
Grew into our Savior and our King.
Let's take some time this season
To reflect on things more deep
Than the gifts and decorations
And Santa who comes when we’re asleep.
You’ll find with careful searching
So much joy and love there, too...
In a Prince of Peace, a Savior
Born in a stable, just for you!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Footprints
We all have times in our lives when we are weighed down by our troubles. You know the times...when you begin to feel like Job, then you read Job again and realize that things are not quite that bad...Fall/winter 2003 was such a time for me...but as always, our heavenly Father came through in a big way!
In March of 2003, my 78-year-old father had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He was not a smoker, so we were a bit surprised. He had surgery to remove the affected lobe, and underwent radiation and chemotherapy. He had seemed to be recovering over the summer, but as fall arrived, Daddy began to struggle with congestive heart failure. He started on a series of in and out hospital visits. At the end of October, he and Mom drove to Houston to see his heart specialist at Methodist. After numerous tests/body scans, they discovered a small tumor on his brain. While disappointing, we had great hope for his treatment, and he made plans to visit the Cancer Center near his home as soon as he was released.
Meanwhile, here in the DFW area, my son had been getting sick on and off since September. Once again, he was down with a head and chest cold, but seemed to be on the mend. In fact, he had just seen his doctor on Monday. His doctor had listened to his chest and heard nothing that concerned him. However, on Tuesday, November 3rd, his condition deteriorated throughout the day. I spoke with nurses several times during the day who said that he was probably fine...just keep an eye on him. That evening, he spiked a temperature of 104.2 and he was having difficulty breathing. I remember the rhythm...breathe, cough, cry, breathe, cough, cry. It was crazy...he had been running around playing the day before and that morning, too! I brought him to the urgent care center. They took him straight to the back and did a chest x-ray. They were going to run some more tests, but after looking at the x-ray, they came and told me that they had called the “Teddy Bear Transport” for him. I had no idea what that was, so they explained that was the name for the ambulance that takes kids to Cook Children’s Hospital. I broke...in shock, I guess, and everything became a series of blurs and painfully clear pictures. I made a tearful call to my husband and watched helplessly as EMT arrived and they placed an I.V. in his little 2-year old arm and taped his arm to a piece of wood to keep it immobilized. Everything seemed so surreal. They placed a pulse-ox monitor on his finger and showed me that his oxygen level was eighty-something...apparently normal is more like 99. I heard through the fog that his entire right lung had appeared on the x-ray as a white cloud. My boy had pneumonia, and he had a pretty bad case of it.
More blurs passed as we were loaded into the ambulance. I know they gave my son a choice of two teddy bears to have in the ambulance...hence the name “Teddy Bear Transport”. I remember that he chose a white polar bear that was very soft and he held it on his chest. I remember thinking how strange it was to be riding in an ambulance...so surreal. We were taken into the emergency room...more blurs...at some point my husband arrived after asking a neighbor to stay with our daughter at home. Finally, sometime after midnight, we were admitted to a room. Still more blurs...but one memory stands out. I remember sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, holding my boy and rocking gently back and forth, trying to soothe him. He was still doing the breathe, cough, cry rhythm. The doctor had been in and explained that his lung was filled with fluid. It could be one large pocket of fluid or many small ones. He had scheduled a procedure for the next morning. They were going to insert a needle through his ribs in his back and try to remove the fluid. If the fluid was in one large pocket, this procedure would relieve the pressure and make it easier for him to breathe. If not, they would have to do surgery and insert a tube into his lungs to drain the fluid. As I sat helplessly on the bed, I saw this doctor outside our door at the nurse’s station. He was looking at my son and talking with the nurses saying, look at him, poor thing, every breath is such a struggle for him. I may have cried then, can’t remember...and although I know I must have been praying all this time, this is the first time I remember praying. It was nothing eloquent...just simply, Father, help him, help my baby breathe.
I prayed through the night and into the next morning. At some point during the night, as I lay in the hospital bed next to my sick son, I released him to God. God finally convinced me that my son belonged to Him before he ever belonged to me. He convinced me that He loves him more than I ever could...that’s hard for a mom to realize about her kids. He convinced me to release my son into His arms, so that He could care for him. He convinced me to trust Him as I had never trusted Him before...trusting Him not for my own life, but for my son’s life. It was a long night with very little sleep...but peace flooded through me by morning.
It’s funny how some parts are so clear and some are so blurred. Very clearly, I remember that the needle procedure was scheduled for 11:30. I remember the procedure also. My husband was there with me, comforting our son as I held him and they inserted that needle into his back. They removed 6 oz of fluid...6 oz from his little 2-year old lungs! It was unbelievable, but God came through in a mighty way. Most of the fluid had been in this one pocket, and the relief for my son was almost immediate. His breathing was much better...no more breathe, cough, cry! It seems we had cleared a major hurdle.
Things began to settle into an abnormal routine...because nothing is really normal when you are staying in a hospital with your child. We had chest x-rays and sonograms almost daily, along with other miscellaneous tests. My two sisters alternated bringing me lunch and keeping me up to date on my father, who was going to be released after that weekend. Then, the bottom fell out of my world. Over the weekend, my father coded. Although he had a DNR (do not resuscitate) order, they did. After further body scans, they discovered that his lungs were “riddled” with cancer. It was putting too much pressure on his heart for him to handle. They didn’t expect him to make it more than a couple more days. My sisters left for Houston, and with them went my prayers...see, I had prayed about what I should do. I had even had a friend offer to come up and stay with my son or watch my daughter so that I could go to Houston to see my dad, but I refused. After praying through the night, I knew that my place was right there, next to my son. It was one of the hardest decisions that I ever made, but God saw me through it and gave me great peace about it.
My new support group became my friends who visited in the hospital, bringing gifts for my son and snacks and bible verses for me. My son was not contagious so we “played” in the playroom with friends who came to visit and with his sister. I say “played” because my son was so sick that he couldn’t play. We wheeled him around in a wagon lined with pillows, dragging his I.V., which was distributing the antibiotics and fluid, along with us. He would watch while everyone else played. Also, the hospital staff was aware of what was going on, and they were wonderful and supportive. My husband visited daily, bringing fresh clothes and my daughter to see my son and me. However, my greatest support and encouragement through this time was my heavenly Father. I was constantly reminded of that Footprints poem, and I knew with all certainty that He was carrying me through this. My friends would say that they couldn’t understand how I was still standing under all the stress, and I would tell them...I wasn’t standing at all, I was being carried through it. As difficult as the situation was, my spiritual life was growing by leaps and bounds, and God was answering prayers daily.
At first, Daddy was in ICU and I couldn’t even call him. I received regular updates from my sisters and my mom. My whole family had gathered to say good-bye. My prayer was that I would at least get to talk with my father again. Daddy was a fighter, and he held on much longer than anyone thought. The doctors were amazed. We all believed that he was holding on to make sure my son was okay! A few days turned into a week and Daddy was moved into hospice...where there was a phone! I got to talk with my Dad one day out in the hall. He sounded weak, but very much like himself. He seemed peaceful and ready. We said our goodbyes...I don’t really remember that much of the conversation, except that it was short, and it meant everything to me just to hear his voice one more time. I went straight to my Bible after that, reading the verses that my friend had given me.
My son continued to improve and we knew he would soon be released. Then, around 5:30 am on November 17th, I got the call from one sister that my father had passed away, and my other sister showed up at the hospital to make sure I was okay. My son was released from the hospital that very same day...twelve days after we had been admitted. Daddy had hung on as long as he could to make sure my son was okay. It was truly a gift from God. Now I would be able to at least attend the funeral in Louisiana, which had been one of my many prayers...one of the many prayers my heavenly Father had so graciously granted me during this time.
God carried me through the funeral, and through an emergency room visit in Louisiana with my son the night before the funeral. In fact, he even put my cousin, a respiratory therapist, in the E.R. that night when I brought my son in. God was all around me, giving me the strength that I didn’t have on my own. I had never in my life felt His presence so very close to me than I did during this time. If He had never been real to me before, He was very real to me now. I saw multiple answered prayers on a daily basis. I saw His angels in the people around me who brought me comfort and hope. I felt His strong arms holding me close, bringing me all the comfort and strength I needed. He never departed from me, and He never “dropped” me. He was faithful, as He always is. He continued to carry me for a long time...in fact it was months before I finally began to see my own footprints once again walking next to His...but that’s yet another story of His faithfulness, for another time...
In March of 2003, my 78-year-old father had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He was not a smoker, so we were a bit surprised. He had surgery to remove the affected lobe, and underwent radiation and chemotherapy. He had seemed to be recovering over the summer, but as fall arrived, Daddy began to struggle with congestive heart failure. He started on a series of in and out hospital visits. At the end of October, he and Mom drove to Houston to see his heart specialist at Methodist. After numerous tests/body scans, they discovered a small tumor on his brain. While disappointing, we had great hope for his treatment, and he made plans to visit the Cancer Center near his home as soon as he was released.
Meanwhile, here in the DFW area, my son had been getting sick on and off since September. Once again, he was down with a head and chest cold, but seemed to be on the mend. In fact, he had just seen his doctor on Monday. His doctor had listened to his chest and heard nothing that concerned him. However, on Tuesday, November 3rd, his condition deteriorated throughout the day. I spoke with nurses several times during the day who said that he was probably fine...just keep an eye on him. That evening, he spiked a temperature of 104.2 and he was having difficulty breathing. I remember the rhythm...breathe, cough, cry, breathe, cough, cry. It was crazy...he had been running around playing the day before and that morning, too! I brought him to the urgent care center. They took him straight to the back and did a chest x-ray. They were going to run some more tests, but after looking at the x-ray, they came and told me that they had called the “Teddy Bear Transport” for him. I had no idea what that was, so they explained that was the name for the ambulance that takes kids to Cook Children’s Hospital. I broke...in shock, I guess, and everything became a series of blurs and painfully clear pictures. I made a tearful call to my husband and watched helplessly as EMT arrived and they placed an I.V. in his little 2-year old arm and taped his arm to a piece of wood to keep it immobilized. Everything seemed so surreal. They placed a pulse-ox monitor on his finger and showed me that his oxygen level was eighty-something...apparently normal is more like 99. I heard through the fog that his entire right lung had appeared on the x-ray as a white cloud. My boy had pneumonia, and he had a pretty bad case of it.
More blurs passed as we were loaded into the ambulance. I know they gave my son a choice of two teddy bears to have in the ambulance...hence the name “Teddy Bear Transport”. I remember that he chose a white polar bear that was very soft and he held it on his chest. I remember thinking how strange it was to be riding in an ambulance...so surreal. We were taken into the emergency room...more blurs...at some point my husband arrived after asking a neighbor to stay with our daughter at home. Finally, sometime after midnight, we were admitted to a room. Still more blurs...but one memory stands out. I remember sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, holding my boy and rocking gently back and forth, trying to soothe him. He was still doing the breathe, cough, cry rhythm. The doctor had been in and explained that his lung was filled with fluid. It could be one large pocket of fluid or many small ones. He had scheduled a procedure for the next morning. They were going to insert a needle through his ribs in his back and try to remove the fluid. If the fluid was in one large pocket, this procedure would relieve the pressure and make it easier for him to breathe. If not, they would have to do surgery and insert a tube into his lungs to drain the fluid. As I sat helplessly on the bed, I saw this doctor outside our door at the nurse’s station. He was looking at my son and talking with the nurses saying, look at him, poor thing, every breath is such a struggle for him. I may have cried then, can’t remember...and although I know I must have been praying all this time, this is the first time I remember praying. It was nothing eloquent...just simply, Father, help him, help my baby breathe.
I prayed through the night and into the next morning. At some point during the night, as I lay in the hospital bed next to my sick son, I released him to God. God finally convinced me that my son belonged to Him before he ever belonged to me. He convinced me that He loves him more than I ever could...that’s hard for a mom to realize about her kids. He convinced me to release my son into His arms, so that He could care for him. He convinced me to trust Him as I had never trusted Him before...trusting Him not for my own life, but for my son’s life. It was a long night with very little sleep...but peace flooded through me by morning.
It’s funny how some parts are so clear and some are so blurred. Very clearly, I remember that the needle procedure was scheduled for 11:30. I remember the procedure also. My husband was there with me, comforting our son as I held him and they inserted that needle into his back. They removed 6 oz of fluid...6 oz from his little 2-year old lungs! It was unbelievable, but God came through in a mighty way. Most of the fluid had been in this one pocket, and the relief for my son was almost immediate. His breathing was much better...no more breathe, cough, cry! It seems we had cleared a major hurdle.
Things began to settle into an abnormal routine...because nothing is really normal when you are staying in a hospital with your child. We had chest x-rays and sonograms almost daily, along with other miscellaneous tests. My two sisters alternated bringing me lunch and keeping me up to date on my father, who was going to be released after that weekend. Then, the bottom fell out of my world. Over the weekend, my father coded. Although he had a DNR (do not resuscitate) order, they did. After further body scans, they discovered that his lungs were “riddled” with cancer. It was putting too much pressure on his heart for him to handle. They didn’t expect him to make it more than a couple more days. My sisters left for Houston, and with them went my prayers...see, I had prayed about what I should do. I had even had a friend offer to come up and stay with my son or watch my daughter so that I could go to Houston to see my dad, but I refused. After praying through the night, I knew that my place was right there, next to my son. It was one of the hardest decisions that I ever made, but God saw me through it and gave me great peace about it.
My new support group became my friends who visited in the hospital, bringing gifts for my son and snacks and bible verses for me. My son was not contagious so we “played” in the playroom with friends who came to visit and with his sister. I say “played” because my son was so sick that he couldn’t play. We wheeled him around in a wagon lined with pillows, dragging his I.V., which was distributing the antibiotics and fluid, along with us. He would watch while everyone else played. Also, the hospital staff was aware of what was going on, and they were wonderful and supportive. My husband visited daily, bringing fresh clothes and my daughter to see my son and me. However, my greatest support and encouragement through this time was my heavenly Father. I was constantly reminded of that Footprints poem, and I knew with all certainty that He was carrying me through this. My friends would say that they couldn’t understand how I was still standing under all the stress, and I would tell them...I wasn’t standing at all, I was being carried through it. As difficult as the situation was, my spiritual life was growing by leaps and bounds, and God was answering prayers daily.
At first, Daddy was in ICU and I couldn’t even call him. I received regular updates from my sisters and my mom. My whole family had gathered to say good-bye. My prayer was that I would at least get to talk with my father again. Daddy was a fighter, and he held on much longer than anyone thought. The doctors were amazed. We all believed that he was holding on to make sure my son was okay! A few days turned into a week and Daddy was moved into hospice...where there was a phone! I got to talk with my Dad one day out in the hall. He sounded weak, but very much like himself. He seemed peaceful and ready. We said our goodbyes...I don’t really remember that much of the conversation, except that it was short, and it meant everything to me just to hear his voice one more time. I went straight to my Bible after that, reading the verses that my friend had given me.
My son continued to improve and we knew he would soon be released. Then, around 5:30 am on November 17th, I got the call from one sister that my father had passed away, and my other sister showed up at the hospital to make sure I was okay. My son was released from the hospital that very same day...twelve days after we had been admitted. Daddy had hung on as long as he could to make sure my son was okay. It was truly a gift from God. Now I would be able to at least attend the funeral in Louisiana, which had been one of my many prayers...one of the many prayers my heavenly Father had so graciously granted me during this time.
God carried me through the funeral, and through an emergency room visit in Louisiana with my son the night before the funeral. In fact, he even put my cousin, a respiratory therapist, in the E.R. that night when I brought my son in. God was all around me, giving me the strength that I didn’t have on my own. I had never in my life felt His presence so very close to me than I did during this time. If He had never been real to me before, He was very real to me now. I saw multiple answered prayers on a daily basis. I saw His angels in the people around me who brought me comfort and hope. I felt His strong arms holding me close, bringing me all the comfort and strength I needed. He never departed from me, and He never “dropped” me. He was faithful, as He always is. He continued to carry me for a long time...in fact it was months before I finally began to see my own footprints once again walking next to His...but that’s yet another story of His faithfulness, for another time...
Friday, September 10, 2010
God is in control...and it is good thing!
But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that he does. For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him. Job 23:13-14
You know, this statement could strike fear into those who don't know God. They might even dismiss Him as a cruel, selfish dictator--doing "whatever His soul desires."
Thankfully, that is not the God I serve!!
My God is good! His mercies are new every morning! His goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life! My God is love and He is unchangeable! Thank God for that! So all that He does and all that He is able to do is good!
When viewed from that perspective, this passage from Job brings me comfort, peace and joy, because "I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13 (paraphrased)
With that in mind, I can rest easy in knowing that He is in control!
Resting in His arms!
Jeanne
You know, this statement could strike fear into those who don't know God. They might even dismiss Him as a cruel, selfish dictator--doing "whatever His soul desires."
Thankfully, that is not the God I serve!!
My God is good! His mercies are new every morning! His goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life! My God is love and He is unchangeable! Thank God for that! So all that He does and all that He is able to do is good!
When viewed from that perspective, this passage from Job brings me comfort, peace and joy, because "I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13 (paraphrased)
With that in mind, I can rest easy in knowing that He is in control!
Resting in His arms!
Jeanne
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Memorial Stones
"... In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." (Joshua 4:6,7; NIV)
Time and time again through the Old Testament you see God showing up and man’s response is to build an altar. The purpose was so when others would came along and asked, “What’s that altar for?” Then someone could tell the story of how God worked in the lives of His people.
However, as New Testament Believers, we have detoured from this practice and Satan enjoys our forgetfulness very much.
Years ago, my husband and I asked God for specific direction for our children and their schooling. We both received the answer to our seeking and sat on the back porch and discussed it. Hallelujah! Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that, when circumstances weren’t going as we thought they would, that we began to question what God had told us.
Thankfully, as we sat on the back porch again, we were able to remember the way He answered our prayer and extinguish the doubt.
As a result of this encounter, I realized the need to remember the lesson learned, the prayer answered, the way God moved so that in those times of doubt, I can go back to our “memorial stone” and say, “This is how God directed” and in faith move forward.
What does this look like today then? One thing we have done is to have certain scriptures around our house that serve as reminders of how God has spoken to us. You may have notes in the margin of your Bible, slips of paper tucked in at certain verses or a journal you keep. Whatever it takes, let’s be sure to mark those moments so the enemy will not gain ground in our forgetfulness and doubt.
Keeping memories in Him,
Tonya
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
But God...
There’s something beautiful about that phrase. All the world can be falling apart, the waters are high “but God remembered Noah...” Joseph’s life of turmoil mixed with the favor finally makes sense and he says “but God intended it for good...” David running from his father-in-law, fearing for his life, “but God did not give David into his hands.” And finally the words of our Savior, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts.”
What about the not-so-fun times? “But God was very angry when he went...” Balaam encountered God in a miraculous way in response to his disobedience. Sadly David also experienced this, “but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name...”
It’s remarkable isn’t it? So much is wrapped up in two words. We see the reality of a situation, then through a transitional phrase, we see what God will do. How very precious. Redemption summed up in the middle of a sentence, so often overlooked because of it’s location in the story.
I’m so grateful for the but God moments in my life, even the ones where He disciplines me. I had all our lesson plans for next school year made and ready to file for the start of the year, but God showed me what is best for our children and made the necessary adjustments. We were planning a trip to New York City, but God changed our hearts and we are now to attend a life-changing marriage conference.
These moments remind me of His sovereignty. Recently, He has brought to my listening several teachings on the topic and the verse at the heart of it all was Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Not a very popular thought, yet it is true.
He’s not the grand puppeteer controlling things from the heavens. He’s given us the freedom to make choices and so many times make mistakes. However, as it is necessary to remind us and others who He is, we will experience but God.
Take a moment and allow God to remind you of the moments He has stepped in. Share with others how He in His wisdom has changed something in your life and you are now thankful for your own but God moments.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Fear Freezes; Faith Frees
Before I began walking with Lord, I walked with fear as my constant companion. Strangely enough, you probably wouldn’t have guessed it. I was a bit of a dare devil. As a child I was one of those who had to climb to the highest branch in the tree and sit there holding on tight as the branch swayed in the wind. At the beach I would be the one trying to make it out to the “next” sandbar, fighting the currents of the “big” waves in water that was over my head, determined to reach the point where I could touch again when I hit the sandbar. Then, I was a gymnast through college, swinging and flying from bars and tumbling across a 4-inch balance beam. Basically, if there was a triple-dog dare, I was there, ready to give it a go. My whole family was like that. Why was I like that? Well, my father wouldn’t tolerate us being fearful of silly things. He taught me to fight through the fear. He was a courageous man. Yet, perhaps even then, God used my earthly father to plant a realization within my heart that being lead by fear was wrong. God is good about that, implanting Kingdom concepts within our heart even when our heart isn’t exactly following Him yet. It’s just one of those many ways He entices us to find Him.
As Christians, we are still faced with a daily battle against fear. We pray and ask God to reveal to us His plan and purpose for our lives, and we rejoice when He places a passion in our hearts for His plan. Then, when we walk out of our quiet time, into the “real’ world, we are bombarded with all the reasons why His plan won’t work. Mountains rise up in front of our path, and the way He wants us to walk suddenly seems treacherous and fraught with danger. Fear of failure sets in, and we are frozen in place, too frightened to take the first step.
Don’t feel badly, we are in good company. Some mighty men of God stood frozen in fear when God revealed His plan to them. At times they tried to tell God that He had the wrong person. Look at Moses. His first response to God’s plan was “But why me? What makes You think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11 The Message). His next objection was “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say.” (Ex 4:1 The Message). Even when God countered each of these objections, Moses continued to object! “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.” (Ex 4:10 The Message). After God countered that, Moses finally just said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!” (Ex 4:13 The Message) I have to laugh when I see that last one. That is so me. Can you imagine, arguing with God like that? Yet, that’s what we do, when we are too fearful to walk the path He has given us.
Moses wasn’t the only one. Look at Jeremiah. He tried to tell God that he was too young and that he didn’t know anything. To which God replied that He would tell Jeremiah where to go and what to say. Look at Joshua. God was telling him that he not only had to fill Moses’ shoes as leader of the Israelites, he had to lead them over the Jordan river to conquer all the people living on the Israelites’ Promised Land. Even though Joshua didn’t protest, God’s first talk with him was all about having strength and courage. In the first chapter of Joshua, some variation of “Be strong and have good courage” was repeated five times, four times from God, and once from the Israelites. Apparently, Joshua needed some encouragement!
We need encouragement, too. As God reveals our part in His Kingdom, we are at once overjoyed and humbled that He has chosen us. Much like Peter, when Jesus called to him to walk on the water, we want to walk and do everything our Savior has called us to do. Yet when we step out into the world, as Peter stepped out among the waves, our focus is removed from our Savior and His miraculous plan for us, and placed on the waves and the storms that stand in our way. We begin to sink, too afraid to take another step.
Take courage though, fellow wave-walkers! All Peter had to do was to call out to His Lord, and Jesus reached out His hand and pulled him to Himself. When our own faith wavers, as we lose the focus that God has given us, all we have to do is call out to God, and He reaches out and restores our faith. As we recognize His “perfect love” for us, it casts out all our fears. Our faith grows, and mountains are moved, storms are calmed, and our path is made clear. We step forward once more along the path He has carved for us, which, when viewed through the eyes of faith, is no longer treacherous and fraught with danger. It may have challenges for us to pass through, but our faith frees us to walk through them, believing that nothing is impossible with God. We believe that we can tell this mountain to move from here to there, and it will.
So, it all comes down to the way we walk. Do we choose to be frozen by fear, or freed by faith? God is so faithful. As He reassured Joshua again and again in Joshua 1, “I will be with you. I won’t give up on you. I won’t leave you”, God reassures us. “This is the path I have for you. This is what you will do. Go. Do it. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. I will be with you wherever you go.”
The great thing is, that with each step that we take in faith, our faith grows and our fear shrinks. We become bolder and bolder as we cast off our fears and begin to walk in faith. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a strong mind. 1Tim 3:6-7. We begin to walk in His power, in His perfect love that casts out all fear, and we lay claim to the sound mind He has given us to discern His presence that will never leave us. We begin to see more and more miracles, and our faith grows and grows. And it all starts with just one step out into the waves.
Kutless has a song out now called “That’s What Faith Can Do.” It says, “I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains, hope that doesn’t ever end...I’ve seen miracles just happen, silent prayers get answered,....that’s what faith can do.”
God’s got a plan for each one of us to step out in faith to further His Kingdom. The question is...what can your faith do? Take that first step and see!
Walking in His faithfulness and love,
Jeanne
As Christians, we are still faced with a daily battle against fear. We pray and ask God to reveal to us His plan and purpose for our lives, and we rejoice when He places a passion in our hearts for His plan. Then, when we walk out of our quiet time, into the “real’ world, we are bombarded with all the reasons why His plan won’t work. Mountains rise up in front of our path, and the way He wants us to walk suddenly seems treacherous and fraught with danger. Fear of failure sets in, and we are frozen in place, too frightened to take the first step.
Don’t feel badly, we are in good company. Some mighty men of God stood frozen in fear when God revealed His plan to them. At times they tried to tell God that He had the wrong person. Look at Moses. His first response to God’s plan was “But why me? What makes You think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex 3:11 The Message). His next objection was “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say.” (Ex 4:1 The Message). Even when God countered each of these objections, Moses continued to object! “Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.” (Ex 4:10 The Message). After God countered that, Moses finally just said, “Oh, Master, please! Send somebody else!” (Ex 4:13 The Message) I have to laugh when I see that last one. That is so me. Can you imagine, arguing with God like that? Yet, that’s what we do, when we are too fearful to walk the path He has given us.
Moses wasn’t the only one. Look at Jeremiah. He tried to tell God that he was too young and that he didn’t know anything. To which God replied that He would tell Jeremiah where to go and what to say. Look at Joshua. God was telling him that he not only had to fill Moses’ shoes as leader of the Israelites, he had to lead them over the Jordan river to conquer all the people living on the Israelites’ Promised Land. Even though Joshua didn’t protest, God’s first talk with him was all about having strength and courage. In the first chapter of Joshua, some variation of “Be strong and have good courage” was repeated five times, four times from God, and once from the Israelites. Apparently, Joshua needed some encouragement!
We need encouragement, too. As God reveals our part in His Kingdom, we are at once overjoyed and humbled that He has chosen us. Much like Peter, when Jesus called to him to walk on the water, we want to walk and do everything our Savior has called us to do. Yet when we step out into the world, as Peter stepped out among the waves, our focus is removed from our Savior and His miraculous plan for us, and placed on the waves and the storms that stand in our way. We begin to sink, too afraid to take another step.
Take courage though, fellow wave-walkers! All Peter had to do was to call out to His Lord, and Jesus reached out His hand and pulled him to Himself. When our own faith wavers, as we lose the focus that God has given us, all we have to do is call out to God, and He reaches out and restores our faith. As we recognize His “perfect love” for us, it casts out all our fears. Our faith grows, and mountains are moved, storms are calmed, and our path is made clear. We step forward once more along the path He has carved for us, which, when viewed through the eyes of faith, is no longer treacherous and fraught with danger. It may have challenges for us to pass through, but our faith frees us to walk through them, believing that nothing is impossible with God. We believe that we can tell this mountain to move from here to there, and it will.
So, it all comes down to the way we walk. Do we choose to be frozen by fear, or freed by faith? God is so faithful. As He reassured Joshua again and again in Joshua 1, “I will be with you. I won’t give up on you. I won’t leave you”, God reassures us. “This is the path I have for you. This is what you will do. Go. Do it. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. I will be with you wherever you go.”
The great thing is, that with each step that we take in faith, our faith grows and our fear shrinks. We become bolder and bolder as we cast off our fears and begin to walk in faith. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a strong mind. 1Tim 3:6-7. We begin to walk in His power, in His perfect love that casts out all fear, and we lay claim to the sound mind He has given us to discern His presence that will never leave us. We begin to see more and more miracles, and our faith grows and grows. And it all starts with just one step out into the waves.
Kutless has a song out now called “That’s What Faith Can Do.” It says, “I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains, hope that doesn’t ever end...I’ve seen miracles just happen, silent prayers get answered,....that’s what faith can do.”
God’s got a plan for each one of us to step out in faith to further His Kingdom. The question is...what can your faith do? Take that first step and see!
Walking in His faithfulness and love,
Jeanne
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
My Detail God
Have you ever read the last few chapters of Exodus or the books of Leviticus and Numbers? If so, you were most likely dazzled by the details God gave His people about everything. When I consider the amount of details in the feasts of Israel and how Jesus fulfilled each one, I’m amazed. I thought I was detail oriented! Why then does it astound me that in my life, God is just as detail oriented as He was with the Israelites?
Sunday night He reminded me of His nature. While praying, my mind was swirling with “stuff”. You know what that’s like, don’t you? There seems to be an unending list of things that plague us in prayer - the dog, need to send an e-mail, forgot to call someone, need to make the kids’ dentist appointment... and the list goes on.
One pastor said he keeps a notepad beside him during his time with God, so he can write these things down and get them out of his head. I’ve also found that to be helpful, but I’m still frustrated because I want to rest in His presence not make my daily to-do list.
So, back to Sunday night. I’m praying, thoughts are swirling and I can’t rest in Him. Grrr. Then He speaks to me. “I love the details. I’m a detail God.” Deep cleansing breath. “Yes, you are. Thank you."
Now, because our Father knows me so very well, He wanted to give me tangible evidence that He’s in the details. Monday morning I looked up some information on the computer regarding a timing issue that was plaguing both me and my sweet husband. Sure enough, God had it all worked out better than we could imagine. Yep, that’s our God!
What details are interrupting your prayer life? Let God take care of the details. He loves to show up and amaze his children.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear....Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27
Tonya
Sunday night He reminded me of His nature. While praying, my mind was swirling with “stuff”. You know what that’s like, don’t you? There seems to be an unending list of things that plague us in prayer - the dog, need to send an e-mail, forgot to call someone, need to make the kids’ dentist appointment... and the list goes on.
One pastor said he keeps a notepad beside him during his time with God, so he can write these things down and get them out of his head. I’ve also found that to be helpful, but I’m still frustrated because I want to rest in His presence not make my daily to-do list.
So, back to Sunday night. I’m praying, thoughts are swirling and I can’t rest in Him. Grrr. Then He speaks to me. “I love the details. I’m a detail God.” Deep cleansing breath. “Yes, you are. Thank you."
Now, because our Father knows me so very well, He wanted to give me tangible evidence that He’s in the details. Monday morning I looked up some information on the computer regarding a timing issue that was plaguing both me and my sweet husband. Sure enough, God had it all worked out better than we could imagine. Yep, that’s our God!
What details are interrupting your prayer life? Let God take care of the details. He loves to show up and amaze his children.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear....Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27
Tonya
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Futile Thoughts of Man
Yesterday when I awoke, I began to look for my Bible so I could read it and spend some time with the Lord. It was soon after I was saved when I realized that when I spent time in His presence in the morning, my whole day would go so much more smoothly. Not that there weren’t challenges during the day...just that I handled the challenges much better if I had sought Him that morning. Over the years there have been weeks where I have been more obedient about this than others...some weeks I met with God daily, and some weeks I was doing great if I met with Him twice. As a young mom, it wasn’t always easy, still isn’t. His grace always covers me when I don’t get to have my quiet time. He is good that way! Praise, You, Lord!
However, this morning was different. It was a Wednesday, and as I began to look for my Bible, I couldn’t find it. Now, I’ve had this Bible for five years. It’s my study bible, so it is filled with notes and highlights from over the years. It is also filled with scraps of paper with names written on them of people that I’ve felt led to pray for, as well as some words of encouragement for different people that God had revealed to me in my quiet time over the years. There are also those papers that others have given me with a word from God on them. Those are all treasures to me, mementos, if you will, of what God has done in my life and the lives of others, sort of a scrapbook of God memories. Now I couldn’t find it.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was Wednesday, and when I began to think back of where I had had my Bible last, I realized it was at church on Sunday. Two things stood out to me here. The first was that there was a chance that my Bible wasn’t even in the house, and that it might be lost forever, along with all my mementos. The second screamed at me...I hadn’t opened my Bible or even thought about opening my Bible for two days! Now I already said that I had skipped my quiet time before, so that was nothing new...but it was different this time. I think the difference this time was my motivation behind it.
Yes, the last two days, I hadn’t been feeling my best. I wasn’t sick, just fighting sinus and allergy issues. I wasn’t motivated to do anything, really. However, there were some other issues buried under all the non-motivation. You see, this time, it wasn’t that I was only too tired or too busy or whatever excuse I had given before for not spending time with my God. This time, I was purposely avoiding Him. I had some sin issues that He needed to deal with, and I didn’t want to deal with them. I was shoving them under the rug, hoping that He and everyone else wouldn’t notice the big lump under the rug in the middle of the living room of my heart. It wasn’t working. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if part of my not feeling well was directly related to the sin I was hiding!
One of my sins was a pride issue, directly related to my Bible in fact. Actually, I had already asked forgiveness for it, the moment it happened. God, however, saw fit to use this situation to teach me a little something. He’s good that way.
On Sunday (the last day I had opened my Bible) and at least one other time in the last week, when I had opened my Bible and looked at all the scribbling and highlights, a flash of pride had come over me. Stupid, I know, but I admit, it did. I thought, “Wow, anyone can see that I read my Bible from all the notes I have in here! Surely they must think that I’m a really good Christian!” As soon as the thought struck me, I recognized it as sin (and pure silliness), yet God brought this back to my mind to show me something. I was completely lost without my Bible. It held keys to doors along my journey over the last 5 years! Keys that might help me walk through those doors again as God directs me for many years to come! Now it was lost! Suddenly, the true importance of that Bible came into clear focus. Those highlights and notes were not to prove anything to anyone. They were my road map, my path that I had followed with God’s direction and the path I was to follow in the future. It’s not that my God isn’t faithful enough to guide me through a new Bible, but that He was already faithful enough to give me this gift, and I was reading it all wrong, through pride instead of gratitude.
Not only that, but here I had completely ignored my road map (my Bible) for two whole days, and not even missed it! Can you imagine (before the days of GPS) if you had set out on an extended journey and ignored your roadmap for two whole days? You’d be lost...and I was. One wrong turn was leading to another and I had no clear direction. You see, my other sin was disobedience in another area. I knew what God wanted me to do and I was ignoring Him. Psalm 94 tells us in verse 7, Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand." That’s where I was in my sin, thinking God just isn’t seeing things the way I am, and I really think that my idea of how to handle things is better. Come to think of it, that’s a bit prideful, too...another wrong turn. Like I said, I was ignoring my roadmap and becoming more and more lost.
Psalm 94 also says in verse 11, The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. I was futile in my thinking, and I was futile in my direction. In fact, I was beginning to think everything was futile in relation to my disobedience issue, and both my spiritual and physical health were showing the futility. No wonder I wasn’t motivated to do anything. It wasn't that I had no motivation; I had the wrong motivation, motivation that was futile without God guiding me.
Thankfully, Psalm 94 goes on to say in verse 12, Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law. When I sit under His instruction, I am blessed, and my thoughts and actions are blessed, not futile. My whole problem was that I hadn’t been sitting under His instruction. Needless to say, my spirit was convicted and I confessed and repented and I am being obedient to His plan, and yes, He is blessing me. Immediately He blessed me by reminding me where my Bible was. I had placed it in a bag that had been given to all the moms at our church for Mother’s Day because I had a lot to carry out of church that day! He blessed me later that day with the grace extended by the ladies in my life group, and He is blessing me as I obediently type this story...
By the way...a closing note...why all the references to Psalm 94? That was what I was supposed to be studying those two days when I didn’t spend time with Him! Psalm 94 was supposed to have been my road map those two days! God had planned for me to read those and be convicted two days ago rather than wandering in futility for two days! So, even though I was being disobedient and ignoring Him, He wasn’t going to let me miss out on the lesson He had for me, even if I missed two days of time with Him!
Ladies, even when you take a wrong turn (accidentally or purposefully); we have a GPS system, as Pastor Jimmy Evans said in a sermon not long ago. Our GPS doesn’t get angry, He just patiently and softly says, “Recalculating” and then makes sure we don’t miss out on what He has planned for us! Our God is good...and so very faithful, even when we are not! Thank You, Lord! Praise You, God!
Walking in His mercy and grace,
Jeanne
However, this morning was different. It was a Wednesday, and as I began to look for my Bible, I couldn’t find it. Now, I’ve had this Bible for five years. It’s my study bible, so it is filled with notes and highlights from over the years. It is also filled with scraps of paper with names written on them of people that I’ve felt led to pray for, as well as some words of encouragement for different people that God had revealed to me in my quiet time over the years. There are also those papers that others have given me with a word from God on them. Those are all treasures to me, mementos, if you will, of what God has done in my life and the lives of others, sort of a scrapbook of God memories. Now I couldn’t find it.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was Wednesday, and when I began to think back of where I had had my Bible last, I realized it was at church on Sunday. Two things stood out to me here. The first was that there was a chance that my Bible wasn’t even in the house, and that it might be lost forever, along with all my mementos. The second screamed at me...I hadn’t opened my Bible or even thought about opening my Bible for two days! Now I already said that I had skipped my quiet time before, so that was nothing new...but it was different this time. I think the difference this time was my motivation behind it.
Yes, the last two days, I hadn’t been feeling my best. I wasn’t sick, just fighting sinus and allergy issues. I wasn’t motivated to do anything, really. However, there were some other issues buried under all the non-motivation. You see, this time, it wasn’t that I was only too tired or too busy or whatever excuse I had given before for not spending time with my God. This time, I was purposely avoiding Him. I had some sin issues that He needed to deal with, and I didn’t want to deal with them. I was shoving them under the rug, hoping that He and everyone else wouldn’t notice the big lump under the rug in the middle of the living room of my heart. It wasn’t working. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if part of my not feeling well was directly related to the sin I was hiding!
One of my sins was a pride issue, directly related to my Bible in fact. Actually, I had already asked forgiveness for it, the moment it happened. God, however, saw fit to use this situation to teach me a little something. He’s good that way.
On Sunday (the last day I had opened my Bible) and at least one other time in the last week, when I had opened my Bible and looked at all the scribbling and highlights, a flash of pride had come over me. Stupid, I know, but I admit, it did. I thought, “Wow, anyone can see that I read my Bible from all the notes I have in here! Surely they must think that I’m a really good Christian!” As soon as the thought struck me, I recognized it as sin (and pure silliness), yet God brought this back to my mind to show me something. I was completely lost without my Bible. It held keys to doors along my journey over the last 5 years! Keys that might help me walk through those doors again as God directs me for many years to come! Now it was lost! Suddenly, the true importance of that Bible came into clear focus. Those highlights and notes were not to prove anything to anyone. They were my road map, my path that I had followed with God’s direction and the path I was to follow in the future. It’s not that my God isn’t faithful enough to guide me through a new Bible, but that He was already faithful enough to give me this gift, and I was reading it all wrong, through pride instead of gratitude.
Not only that, but here I had completely ignored my road map (my Bible) for two whole days, and not even missed it! Can you imagine (before the days of GPS) if you had set out on an extended journey and ignored your roadmap for two whole days? You’d be lost...and I was. One wrong turn was leading to another and I had no clear direction. You see, my other sin was disobedience in another area. I knew what God wanted me to do and I was ignoring Him. Psalm 94 tells us in verse 7, Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand." That’s where I was in my sin, thinking God just isn’t seeing things the way I am, and I really think that my idea of how to handle things is better. Come to think of it, that’s a bit prideful, too...another wrong turn. Like I said, I was ignoring my roadmap and becoming more and more lost.
Psalm 94 also says in verse 11, The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. I was futile in my thinking, and I was futile in my direction. In fact, I was beginning to think everything was futile in relation to my disobedience issue, and both my spiritual and physical health were showing the futility. No wonder I wasn’t motivated to do anything. It wasn't that I had no motivation; I had the wrong motivation, motivation that was futile without God guiding me.
Thankfully, Psalm 94 goes on to say in verse 12, Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law. When I sit under His instruction, I am blessed, and my thoughts and actions are blessed, not futile. My whole problem was that I hadn’t been sitting under His instruction. Needless to say, my spirit was convicted and I confessed and repented and I am being obedient to His plan, and yes, He is blessing me. Immediately He blessed me by reminding me where my Bible was. I had placed it in a bag that had been given to all the moms at our church for Mother’s Day because I had a lot to carry out of church that day! He blessed me later that day with the grace extended by the ladies in my life group, and He is blessing me as I obediently type this story...
By the way...a closing note...why all the references to Psalm 94? That was what I was supposed to be studying those two days when I didn’t spend time with Him! Psalm 94 was supposed to have been my road map those two days! God had planned for me to read those and be convicted two days ago rather than wandering in futility for two days! So, even though I was being disobedient and ignoring Him, He wasn’t going to let me miss out on the lesson He had for me, even if I missed two days of time with Him!
Ladies, even when you take a wrong turn (accidentally or purposefully); we have a GPS system, as Pastor Jimmy Evans said in a sermon not long ago. Our GPS doesn’t get angry, He just patiently and softly says, “Recalculating” and then makes sure we don’t miss out on what He has planned for us! Our God is good...and so very faithful, even when we are not! Thank You, Lord! Praise You, God!
Walking in His mercy and grace,
Jeanne
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