Month: October 2018

Throw Away the Measuring Stick

Leave a comment
6 Tips for Success for the Godly Woman

(When my church, GFBC, was doing the Rachel & Leah study, by Nicki Koziarz, this fall, I wrote some encouragement notes to the ladies that were going through the study with me.  One of those notes developed into this blog post.)

In the study we took a deep look into the lives of Rachel & Leah and learned how to combat comparisons in our own lives.  The last week topic or truth was “Let the success of others encourage you, not discourage you.”

So how do you measure success?

Do you measure it by the worlds standards of Fame and Fortune?  Do you let the success you see around you discourage you in pursuing your own desires and goals?  Has your road to success become your idol?  We are all constantly taking out a measuring stick and measuring our lives up against those around us.  The problem is, we use the world’s standards as our measuring stick instead of God’s standards.   Here are just a few things to remember when you are looking at your measuring stick:

  1. God already has a successful plan mapped out for your life; you just have to be obedient and follow it. When King David was dying he told his son, Solomon, “Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you’ll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go.” (1 Kings 2:3 The Message) We have to do things God’s way not the world’s. God’s course is always the best, and we will succeed when we follow His plan.
  2. You have to start somewhere. Don’t forget it is your journey. Not your neighbors’, friends’ or the person that is doing exactly what you want to succeed in doing.   Zechariah 4:10 says “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”  If God has called you to do something, don’t be discouraged when you see others succeeding more rapidly in the same task. Their journey may have a different purpose in God’s master plan.  You will never progress on your journey unless you start.  God rejoices when you take the steps of obeying and following His plan.
  3. You have to stay focused on the Goal and know that God is the source of your success. Don’t let the success of others remove your focus from what God has called you to accomplish.  Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”   Don’t look back – keep your eyes focused forward and know that God is the source of “every good and perfect gift (James 1:17)”
  4. Let the success of others spur you on in your journey, not hinder you. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)  “This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.” ( Titus 3:8 )  “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)  Look in Hebrews 11 to see all that have come before us, to encourage us in our walk of Faith.  We can see how God used each one in his plan, but don’t stop there, look around you and let the success of others encourage you to succeed.
  5. God has gifted you with all you need to succeed. God gifted you with talents when he formed you in the womb.  When you became a believer, He gifted you with a Spiritual gift.  He has already equipped you with all you need to bring Him Glory and become a success in His eyes.
  6. Your Ultimate Goal is for your success to bring Glory to God. Success is knowing that you have done everything you can do, both in thoughts and actions, to become the best that you are capable of becoming.  Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  When you pull out that measuring tape to measure your success, ask yourself, “Am I doing everything I possibly can to bring glorify to God?”

So throw away the measuring stick with the world’s ideas of success, and pick up your Bible and study God’s idea of success.

blackboard-board-chalk-21696.jpg

Christ and the Corrective Lenses

1 Comment

My friend MJ lay next to me snoring lightly, the big drops of rain falling from the tree tops that were adjacent to our “treehouse” retreat accommodations sounded like something entirely different from than the peaceful pitter and tinkling I was used to. I surmised it was my, until now, not-so-close proximity to the roofline. Despite the sleep promoting environment, I was awake. Wide awake. I figured if I was going to be awake I should go ahead and be a little productive and be about my favorite early morning activity, studying the King’s Word. The open blinds let in just enough light for me to see outlines and large objects. In order to not wake my friend MJ I would have to rely on my dimly lit phone.

I reached for the little yellow case holding my contacts.

Fact: Minus corrective lenses I can see nothing clearly.

Fact: I wear my glasses while I sleep so that when I awaken I know where I am. Too many close calls have yielded such a strange practice.

Fact: I now require readers to see small print so I have to put in my contact lenses and then don said readers. Double Corrective Lenses. Bifocals are the next step but I am just not ready to surrender to that one.

blur-blurry-bokeh-347139.jpgMy relationship with corrective lenses began some 32 years ago. I was 8. I had no idea people had faces, trees had actual leaves, or billboards were sources of information. I was in the 4th grade. I had the standard old school eye exam. When asked what the first letter on the chart was I answered honestly, “What chart?” Needless to say my mama got the note that a follow-up eye exam was required.

The day she took me, was like any other. I rode in a car with faceless but familiar people,
I entered a large foreboding yet vague structure and sat in a chair. My information supplied by my other senses, the smell of potatoes chips, candy, and cleaners mingled together. It smelled like the place I got shots, the pediatrician’s office; it didn’t sound that way though, there were no crying and coughing babies. The chair felt different, they were grown up chairs and the pediatrician’s office had my size chairs.

As per my usual I began to ask questions. Where were we? What were we doing here? Would it hurt? How long would we be here?

I have always been a question asker, it is my primary source of information and learning. Sometimes my questions intimidate people; sometimes they think I am criticizing them and their way of doing things. In my adult life I have learned this and have altered how I communicate in just such a situation. I ask the King questions daily. I used to be almost ashamed of that, like I didn’t trust God when I questioned. I understand now that is simply how I learn, and because He loves me, He welcomes my questions. He often answers me back with questions.

*****

“Lord, I’m struggling. I feel overwhelmed and unsure. Why Lord?”

“What is your name?”

That is The question He asks me most. Just last night I was talking with Him and he whispered over and over,

“Don’t you remember?” “What is your name?”

My answers always initiate a pondering that answers my questions. I digress… again.

*****

As I completed my eye exam, I cautiously answered questions and waded carefully into a sea of unknowns that this day had brought to me. When the eye doctor placed the cold metal Phoropter (I did not know its actual name – the Google helped me with that answer when I asked that question) over my face, the cold sensation of the metal and ability to see simultaneously cemented in my memory. I still remember that feeling of joy and elation.

I. Could. Finally. See. The. Chart.

adorable-beautiful-black-and-white-325687.jpgI rattled off those letters like an expert. I knew them and I boldly proclaimed their names to the eye doctor. It wasn’t until he moved the miraculous Phoropter that I was deflated. How could it be? My joy instantly turned to sorrow. He escorted me to my mom, spoke to her briefly and she walked me over to another mysterious section. She told me to pick out some glasses frames I liked. One needs to see one’s image in the mirror clearly to determine if one likes one’s glasses. Needless to say my first pair of corrective lenses were less than attractive. Despite their appearance they were life changers. I’ve come to realize that is often the truth of life. It is oftentimes the seemingly small moments, seemingly insignificant things that are life changers.

I could see. An entire new world opened up to me. My senses worked in tandem to give me information and reveal the world around me. My mama says I read every sign from here to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and if she had to hear “Bates House of Turkey” one more time she was going to scream. (I should probably bring to her attention the fact that at least I don’t do that now – where every other signs boasts a difficult to pronounce name of an attorney. She really would scream before we got to the Tank Farm heading southbound on 65.)

When we come to know the King, to have a relationship with Him, it completely changes our perspective of the world. Like putting on corrective lenses for the first time. In the Book of John, Chapter 9 there was a blind man whom Jesus made to see. He was born blind and upon meeting Christ he was healed and made to see. This caused a great debate among the ones who needed rationalization of the process. The man’s response is a classic. It is recorded in verse 25.

He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” John 9:25

One Thing I DO know is I was blind, but now I see. Simple isn’t it? The gospel itself is simple. With Jesus our entire perspective changes and in areas where we once were blind, with Jesus as the Change Agent, we now can see as well as a fourth grader with her first pair of glasses seeing her Mama’s face clearly for the first time in her life.

macro-outdoors-perspective-268953.jpg

The Journey: Coming and Going

Leave a comment

Have you ever noticed that there sure is a lot of coming and going in the Gospels? Jesus came to the crowd. He came to Capernaum. He went to a solitary place. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to Golgotha. He called the disciples to “Come!” And he told them to “Go” sell their possessions and give to the poor and to “Go” make other disciples.

Sometimes our journey of life gets hectic. We feel like all we are doing is coming and going. My Mama used to say she was so busy she “met herself coming and going.” But in our comings and goings from day-to-day we can have purpose. We can be like Jesus.

What can we learn from Jesus’ comings and goings.

architecture-blurred-buildings-303066.jpgJesus went TO places, but He went FOR the people. The Bible documents Jesus traveling to many towns and regions of the countryside: Jerusalem, Bethsaida, Samaria, Galilee, Genneseret, mountainsides, the Sea of Galilee. In each place He went, scripture reveals more to us about His interactions with the people He encountered rather than about the random daily things He did. We don’t know where he spent his nights or what he ate or if He and the disciples ever found a big field and played ball together just for fun. We see him healing and teaching and driving out demons and talking with the hurting people He met.

In our lives, as we come and go, are we more focused on the tasks at hand – get the kids to soccer, buy the groceries, have the oil changed in the car – or have we learned yet that life is about the people we encounter on the journey? Our Father loves hurting people, whether it’s us or a friend or a stranger. He will put His children in the right place at the right time to meet very specific needs. Are we even aware? Or are we so busy being on our way to work or on our way to school or on our way to church that we overlook the lonely, the sick, the hurting, and the desperate around us? Are we more like the compassionate Samaritan on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, or, on a typical day, do we very much resemble the Priest or the Levite who was too busy and distracted to help a wounded man?

Faith-Christian-hands-pray-praise-worship_credit-ShutterstockJesus invited people to “Come” and commanded them to “Go.” Notice how the disciples were gently invited to come along with Jesus and learn from Him and allow Him to change them into fishers of men. “Come.” He calls us as well. Come. Gently, patiently, often in a whisper. Come. Early in the morning stillness. Come. Amidst the confused hustle and bustle of life. Come. In the midst of the raging storm. Come. He calls us as much for our good as for His purposes, because His purposes are for our good! We shortchange ourselves and miss out on an opportunity to learn and grow and join with Christ in His healing work here on earth when we ignore the call to come to Him.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

 

activity-adult-barbecue-344102As gently as Jesus calls us to come, He is equally firm about His command to “Go.” Jesus commanded a rich man to go sell his possessions and give to the poor. (Matthew 19:21) To an expert of the Mosaic law He said go and show mercy. (Luke 10:37) To the woman at the well He told her to go face Her past sin and come to Him to quench her heart’s thirst. (John 4:16) To the woman condemned by man He offered free-dom from condemnation and the challenge to “go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) And to all His disciples, then and now, He commands us to…

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 

Let us respond to His invitation to “Come!” and obey His command to “Go!”

winding-road-1556177_1280.jpgJesus took time to go to a solitary place to pray. Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus pulling aside to pray. As Jesus faced the toughest moment of His life He pulled away to pray alone. He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, left His disciples behind, and prayed about the trials He faced. Many of our most difficult times will feel very lonely. Our Father is there for us in those moments, just as He was for Jesus, for us to come to Him in prayer.

The crowds get wearying. The demands of life leave us frazzled. Work and family and school and commitments pull us in a dozen different directions. We too need to pull away to a solitary place to pray. If Jesus needed to, then we need to exponentially more so. We don’t need to pull away to social media or to TV or to a glass of wine or to friends even – we need to pull away, alone, to our Father and pour out our hearts to Him in prayer and listen to what He has to pour out to us! That is where true refreshing of the soul resides.

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35

Jesus went to Golgotha for you and me. He made the greatest sacrifice of all time. He went to the cross and lay down His life for us.

As we come and go and mingle with friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers from day-to-day Jesus will call us to lay down our lives as well. We probably won’t be called upon to physically die for someone today, but it will sometimes feel like dying to do the compassionate things He asks us to do. That is what dying to self is all about. We lay down our rights and our plans and our wishes to go to that one in need. To come up to someone we don’t know well and offer to pray. To share the good news of Jesus as we go throughout this journey of life.

Are you tired of your rat race of coming and going? It’s time to give in to your Master who says “Come to me and I will give you rest.” It’s time to find strength and refreshment in Him. Not only in His gentle “Come,” but in being obedient to His command to “Go!’

Come!

 

Invisible Bugs

Leave a comment

I had the opportunity to accompany my husband on a recent business trip. He had saved up air miles for me, so I was excited about a week at the beach. Since his usual hotel choice was not located in this area, he spent extra time selecting the place for our stay. He knows I like to stay right on the beach whenever possible because I do not have access to a car when he is on a business trip. He chose an Inn for our stay.

I had never stayed at an Inn, well, except for the Holiday Inn. My mind flashed to Hallmark movies on Nantucket or some island paradise. I thought it was going to be a fun adventure. When we checked in at the Inn, we were told about the amenities available to us. I was so ready for some beach time. Then, I was given a bottle of insect animal-beetle-biology-1114318repellant. I was told about the tiny little bugs that I would not be able to see but were on the beach early in the morning and late in the evening. I thought “oh great!” Not only would I have to be coated in sunscreen but I would need to have bug repellant also. I am not a fan of bugs. I don’t like fat bugs, skinny bugs, walking bugs, flying bugs, big bugs, or little bugs, and especially bugs I cannot see.

As I sat on the beach I would see tiny bugs, but I would know there were bugs that were even smaller than they were. I saw some ants but knew that the bugs were smaller. I didn’t let it spoil my trip bug-hand-insect-1119264but I was very aware of bugs. As I waited for the onslaught of the non-imaginary bugs that were going to attack me at any moment, I was reminded of how what seems like the tiniest of sin can attack.

We think of sin in categories such as being a big sin or a small sin or a sin with a capital “S”. When God sees sin, it is sin. There is no big sin or small sin. Romans 3:23 tells us “For all have sinned.” The Bible doesn’t tell us that there are degrees of sin. God would have told us if that were true and would have defined sin very carefully. God’s Word does not do that. As I thought about the tiny bugs and sin, I compared the tiny bugs to sneaky sins that kind of creep into your life or slip in a back door. The kind that make you think “I didn’t just do that” or “I didn’t just think that.”  God has convicted me lately to be careful what thoughts jump into my head. I want my thoughts to be pure and uplifting instead of critical or mean.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV says

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

So, watch out for those tiny bugs that you cannot see that bite before you know what is happening. Stay aware of the thoughts and activities that start out seemingly harmless but move quickly into a dangerous place. To protect yourself from sin, be sure to wear your spiritual insect repellant every day. The only place I have found spiritual insect repellant is in God’s Word. 

Ephesians 6:10-11  ESV tells us 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

 

The Moral to the story:

As we were packing up to come back home, my husband asked about the insect repellent. I told him that since I had not been on the beach early or late in the day I had not used it. He asked if I had read the ingredients and I told him that I had not. He said that it contained Hemp which is another name for Cannabis Oil. 

The next time someone offers me insect repellant to protect from invisible bugs, I am going to tell them that I don’t need any weed. I will take my chances with the bugs.

beach-dawn-dune-662994.jpg

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10

Crowns and Heaven

Leave a comment

“Mama what kinda crown you want?”

“Whatever kind you think will be good Mags! Thanks!”

She had asked me from the kitchen. Her Daddy had spent the better part of the last several days working at a makeshift office on the kitchen table. It’s fairly portable and we “clear the table” for meals. I had taken over the living room office, in preparation for some jam-packed weeks to come.

Scott Martin rarely complains, he just unpacks and packs up his work stuff, transitions with ease and with an almost alarming flexibility just “rolls with it.” Once he sat on our unmade bed, held a borrowed microphone and recorded radio segments for some not so local radio stations because the Martin homeschoolers with an armload of new science books had taken over every room but our bedroom.

He knew “partly sunny with a high of 89” might not bode well with “Look at this blobfish!!! It’s just like it says ‘a rainbow of ugly!’ Bahahaha” thereby eliminating another opportunity at recording said weather segments. He never once complained. I would have. I’d’ve raised the dead yelling about it. He just keeps on rollin’ with it.

The night she asked me about the crown, I entered the kitchen-slash-office-turned-crafting-center to prepare for dinner. As I entered the multipurpose room, the chaos and disarray of it all slowly absorbed into my already weary mind. I started to open my mouth to complain but instead choose to look not just see. There at the table, my youngest, the one that struggles desperately, chatting away. Nonstop asking her Daddy questions,

“Is there really a dark side of the Moon? Has anyone seen it?”
“Do blind people dream in color?”
“Why didn’t Noah put the dinosaurs in the ark?”
“If you lived in a treehouse where would you go to the bathroom?”
“Why do I only like blueberries in a muffin?”
“Can we take our dog to a dog psychologist to see why he keeps getting on the kitchen table?”
“What makes Pepper so spicy?”

He nodded and worked, she kept crafting and cutting, all the while talking, like a magpie that never quits chirping she went on and on. We have learned she questions when she is anxious. A week of unknowns had thrust her into an anxiety-ridden baseline that causes her counterparts their own anxiety. They’d long ago sought shelter elsewhere; The Scarlet Letter preferred to their youngest sister’s anxiety influenced behavior.

Her Daddy sat working. She stood. Evidently she’d been standing a while. He nodded and responded appropriately. He patiently answered her questions for the umpteenth time. He encouraged her crown making from paper, noting she “is good at arts and crafts.” He joked with her and made her giggle. He patiently reminded her for the second time it was time to clear the table for supper. She smiled and acknowledged that even though “Mama wouldn’t let her watch tv she was sorta glad.” He agreed, he was sorta glad too.

As I took it all in I took a picture. That paper crown perched perfectly atop his head. He wore it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. If it’d have been a new custom-made baseball cap with his favorite team he would have worn it just as proudly. It wasn’t until later I saw that she’d made it to match his shirt. As I watched them briefly just before my presence interrupted them, gratitude washed over me. Gratitude for this exchange. Grateful for patience that extends beyond my own. Gratefulness for a Daddy for who loves his children wholly. Grateful that he sees the fragility of the one before him and he loves her anyway.

Grateful for a glimpse again of the King and how He loves me, brokenness and all. I suppose when I get to Heaven I’ll know for sure, but for a brief moment in time that night, in our humble kitchen I saw from behind what Heaven is like and it is a beautiful thing indeed.

air-atmosphere-beautiful-533833.jpg

A Testing of Faith

1 Comment
A testimony by guest author Alecia Singleton

No one wants to face trials, but out of trials comes a triumph. God is ever faithful and He keeps showing himself strong. Psalm 46:1 sticks out in my mind.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

I had been sick, but thought it would go away.

I was having dizzy spells that first started mild and progressed over time. The dizziness became so bad that it did not matter if I was sitting, standing or laying down, I felt like everything was spinning. I was sick beyond sick. I did not see an end in sight.

I was first told to go to the ER. They were thinking that it was my heart, however, my heart was fine. I had gone to my primary doctor and they ran many tests and all came back normal.

I went back to see my primary doctor and there was another doctor seeing me, because my doctor was busy. This doctor asked if anyone had checked my thyroid? I said no and she proceeded to order a full thyroid screening. The results came back showing an under-active thyroid. I was thanking God that we finally had an answer. But my next thought was, what is an under-active thyroid and is it treatable? Thankfully, this is a treatable disorder, but the other part to this, it also could be cancerous.

I was blessed in the aspect that I had no cancer. They began to treat the thyroid condition with medication, but I was told that the medication that I was on could eventually cause problems with my liver and that I needed to decide if I wanted to have surgery to remove the thyroid and be on meds for the rest of my life or allow them to perform a radiation treatment on the thyroid. I opted to have the surgery, because there were too many what ifs about the radiation treatment.

I was referred to see a surgeon. During the consultation with the surgeon, he asked if I sing and I said yes, and his next words were, “I have to let you know, when the surgery is over, you will not be able to sing again.” I spoke with authority letting him know that God blessed me with my voice and I believe when this is over, I will be able to sing again. The surgeon said, “If you are able to sing, you will not be able to sing loud or high.”

I had my Thyroid surgery on March 16, 2005, and the surgery went fine. I received confirmation, no cancer. My voice was raspy, but I expected that right after surgery, but as time went on, my voice was still raspy.

Three months went by and my voice was still raspy. The devil brought it back to me what the surgeon said that I would not be able to sing again. I said God you have got this. I began to pray the word of God over me from Hebrews 13:21:

“Now may the God of peace… equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

I could sing, but my voice would just cut off. I had to continue to trust God and believe His promises. I had to tell God that I made a declaration to the surgeon that I would be able to sing and that His Word told me that I would not be put to shame. One year later, my voice was still not back to normal, but it was much better. I began to sing to the glory of God. I told God that if He allowed my voice to come back, that I would always glorify him.

I am here to tell you that God is so faithful, He met me at my point of need. I knew what I could hear and I knew it was not right, but God, in his time, He healed my voice and I do not take my voice for granted. I know the power of God through the testing of my faith. When you see and hear me sing, I am not just saying words, I am singing, because I have experienced Gods hand at work in my life. I will always sing to the glory of God.

Alecia

 

Seasons of Life

2 Comments

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved too much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3-5

Several years ago our church women’s ministry held an event in the fall called “Celebrate the Seasons.” It was a wonderful night out to celebrate the seasons of our lives around dozens of uniquely decorated tables representing different seasons of the year. The fall and Christmas decorations were rich and lavish. The winter tables looked crisp and white. Spring tables abounded in flowers and bunnies and such as you might imagine. For the table I decorated, I chose a summer theme, and as part of my decor used tiny lightbulbs in mason jars to remind us of lightning bugs. It was a fun night of celebration and encouragement.

As I write today my mind is stirred up with memories and rather melancholy. Fall is in the air and my spirit is feeling very fall-ish. I’m in the autumn of my life enjoying my empty nest and the pleasures of adult children and grandkids. But this fall season of life seems to scream at me sometimes, “Winter is just around the corner for you.”

A dear friend and mentor of mine passed away mere hours ago. I met her when she was in the autumn of her life, me a mere summer’s child at the time. I have vivid pictures in my mind of moments of wise advice from her, prayers over me when I was worried sick over a teenage child, and gentle rebukes at how I should treat my husband and my own aging mother. As this contemplative mood overwhelms me today I am not discouraged, maybe just a wee bit sad at the rapid pace my life is taking to its final breath. But I am also spurred on as an older woman to take these thoughts captive and try to share them in a coherent way for your encouragement.

Whatever season you find yourself in today, be thankful for it and make the most of it.

beautiful-bloom-blooming-414160If you’re in the spring, plant your habits carefully so that they serve you well through life. Accept yourself & love yourself because God definitely does. Invest your life in the things of God and in people in your life. Love your husband well. Play with your kids and really listen to them. Don’t stress over anything – God’s got this!

“Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,… Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:1-3, 6

andaman-sea-beach-beautiful-459252If you’re in the summer of your life enjoy the pleasant pastures in which God has placed you. Put your past behind you and seek Him with your whole heart as He is preparing a new thing for you. Let go of anger, regret, and shame. Confess your sins, make amends where needed, and realize your Father in heaven has truly forgiven you.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

action-bicycle-bike-763398If you’re in a stormy season, hold His hand, trust His great love for you, have faith, and remember that these rains are watering the fertile soil of your life. Learn lessons from scripture: 1) Keep your eyes on Jesus when the waves are high and 2) Your Father is the one who can calm the waves with His voice: Peace be still.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:11

adventure-cold-daylight-416821.jpg

If you’re in the winter of life, I can’t offer help from experience. I have not been there yet. I can say Keep on! Keep on pursuing righteousness! Keep on being an example! Keep on loving others! Keep on running the race! Keep on letting His word offer comfort and challenge! Please keep on, I’m watching you and learning from your example.

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.” Jeremiah 16:31

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

leaves-2901684_1280For those of you raking leaves in your life, like I am, it’s not over. It’s time for us to get our second wind. It’s time for us to reach back and give a hand to those coming up the path just behind us. Speak out with the wisdom you have learned. Pray faithfully. Keep learning. Love well. Make it more than ever your goal “To know Him and make Him known.” It’s time to harvest what we have planted and tended for our whole lives.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:7-10

There are so many lessons to learn in each season of life. One little blog article can’t really do this subject justice. But hopefully you’ve been encouraged today. In closing I’ll leave you with a few things Mrs. Joyce taught me through her words and by her actions. Here are just a few that spring to my mind:

  • Be confident in who God made you to be. (I remember her making a “throne” of the chairs for herself to get her seat at the most comfortable position for her.)
  • Be kind. (She was. To everyone.)
  • Offer godly advice or none at all. (She did.)
  • Laugh and enjoy friends and be full of the zest of life. (I’m remembering a women’s retreat to Knoxville when she teased our high school daughters telling them they ought to get a tatoo of Beth Moore’s initials! We rolled with laughter!)
  • Study God’s word diligently and share your wisdom with others. (She modeled this constantly.)
  • Love your family wholeheartedly in word and deed. (She adored her family and shared ceaselessly about them. She also made great vegetable soup and shrimp & grits for them and for those of us blessed to eat in her home.)
  • Pray with people God brings into your day. (This she did for me.)
  • Prayer accomplishes much, so don’t quit praying for that child you are so worried over. (She taught me this at a crucial time in life.)
  • The one who cooks doesn’t have to clean up! (My favorite!)

Take or leave any of my advice. What you really need to do is go to the Word of God and follow every single word. I loved you greatly Mrs. Joyce. See you in heaven when I get there!

pexels-photo-68564 clouds

(In honor of Mrs. Joyce McCombs.)

Olympic Faith

Leave a comment

True Story: In a race I once beat an Olympic Bronze Medalist in Track.

Every time I mention said winning in front of said Olympian she laughs, it’s a hearty laugh and often I will mention our race just to hear her Nigerian accent and laughter all roll out together in a determined defense. She claims I cheated. I maintain I did not.

I’ve never been what one might call athletic, the concept of organized sports is really quite foreign to me. I know this will boggle the minds of some, but sports, most of them anyway, do not make much sense to me. Despite years of football indoctrination from a lifetime of SEC Football exposure, the sport of football is a subject where I lack understanding. One would think purely by osmosis, or at the very least, genetic makeup I might have gotten more than a minimal understanding of sports. Athletics, competitive in nature, boggle my mind. I have tried over the years to understand but I can not.

I’m more of an expert stick man artist kind of gal. I can Macgyver a harmonica out of a couple of popsicle sticks, some paper and rubber bands in no time flat, but Heaven Help if someone asks me what the down means or a touchdown or something. I only know a safety is loosely translated as going to someone else’s house and beating them up. It took my coworkers one full Saturday shift during Football Season to explain that concept to me. They soon gave up any further teaching, abandoning me as many have that I just will not get it.

My sister is as much of a Football Fanatic as I am not. She cheers for her school, The Alabama Crimson Tide. She tailgates and touchdown dances, and I don’t even know what all, I just know she loves her team and by sheer happenstance, my wedding anniversary tends to fall on one of the lesser important of the game weeks. My Birthday is an altogether different story. Often it falls on the Iron Bowl weekend and I know that means Alabama and Auburn will be playing each other, families will be divided, and about a metric ton of Ro-tel Dip will be consumed by Alabamians across the state. Game Time is also a good time to pick up some Christmas gifts because just about everyone but me is somewhere, eyes peeled, consumed by one of the most dramatic quarters of a competition for nearly a whole year… or so I am told.

2000-158-19_Medal_Olympics_1920_Antwerp_Gold_Obverse_7268561188_cropped

When third grade boys inevitably ask me “Who I go for?” (That’s Alabama slang for which team do I prefer to win; it took me 3 years of teaching third grade Sunday School before I caught on.) I leave them scratching their heads with my answer. “Well, my sister went to Alabama and she and my Husband like them so I like them, but I like Auburn’s history and it fascinates me so I like them too, but My money and my Husband go to Mississippi State so I figure I like them too.”

“But Mrs. Amy, Who do you go for?” I usually just shrug. I digress yet felt it necessary to explain how unnatural a competitive athletic experience is for me.

I suppose that is why I find it funny that by chance circumstances on that fateful day I would beat a medal-possessing track athlete. Perhaps therein lies the answer to my sports disconnect.

My friend, the Olympian, is one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. I had known her sometime before I even knew her amazing history. Another coworker had mentioned it in passing and because it was the honest truth she did not deny it. I was floored. Once I got hold of the fact that she held a for reals, hard-earned medal, I ran with that one. I would question and quiz her daily. I would listen to her stories, woven together in the thread of her native tongue intertwined with words like Alabama and the University and nursing and back home. Commonwealth and games and I would listen and I would watch.

Once I learned of her medal I asked her why she didn’t wear it to work like everyday? She laughed her hearty laugh and I jokingly said “Well where do you keep it? Your panty drawer?!” Again she laughed, there was no denial, and she said “I used to have it hanging on a nail.” I rolled! She kept her medal in her unmentionables drawer! Later as I pondered that one I learned a great and valuable lesson. I can laugh all day about one’s greatest treasure being stowed away with one’s underpants, yet there are days I am no different.

The King’s Word says, I’ve been given a great inheritance, and I’ve been guilty of cramming that baby in my panty drawer and never giving it a second thought. My Salvation, the Lord’s Grace, THAT is a great reward, it is THE greatest reward, but if one were to observe me they would have no clue whatsoever that I held such a tremendous inheritance. A Heavenly reward that supersedes all earthly riches. I walk around some days like a Pauper with that Treasure stuffed down in my drawer next to a bunch of mismatched socks.

My friend, Faith, has also taught me that her treasure, her true treasure isn’t in things. Never once had it occurred to me that mine might be. But it was, it has been, and it’s one I am committed to work on surrendering daily.

Once we were having a discussion about children and it dawned on me like a slap across my face, Faith gives birth to Hope. As a matter of fact, Faith did give birth to Hope and on my birthday (I know the King must’ve planned that one just so that I could understand). I’ve never known humility like hers. I’ve often said she’s taught me more about Jesus in my adult life than near anyone has. I love her, her humility, her joy. I found a picture on the Internet once when I googled her name. It was prompted by Shelton Martin yelling at the Olympics on our television one summer, “C’mon you can win one for YOUR underwear drawer too! Go USA!”

It dawned on me, that is where he thinks one keeps one’s hard-earned medal. He has nothing to tell him otherwise, or at least what his experience dictates. As I thought about our friend, how I love and adore her, I googled her name and found the image. I giggled. It reflects her perfectly. She is laughing and smiling. Her Joy apparent. As I surveyed it, I was once again aware she had taught me yet another lesson, her joy comes from within, from the Savior she serves. He is her joy and her strength and it is to Him I am grateful for having a plan that includes such a Faithful friend.

book-1421097_1920

 

Psalm 56

Leave a comment

If suggests a possibility.

When implies a certainty.

When I am afraid,
I will trust in you. (v. 3)

Not if I am afraid.
But when I am afraid.

Fear is a certainty on this broken planet.

Sin separated us from the safety God intended in the Garden. Fear replaced fellowship with God as Adam and Eve scrambled to hide themselves and cover their actions.

What are we afraid of?

We fear rejection, loss of reputation, loss of resources, isolation, pain, and, most of all, death.

So when David writes about fear, he writes about when, not if.
He writes about the only antidote to fear: trust in God.

When I am afraid. Fear happens.
And when it does, I will choose to trust in God.

How does David know that trust dispels fear?

He knows God’s Word.

In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me? (v. 4)

When we study God’s Word like David did, we will know God’s character. We will know His love for us. We will know His plans for us. We will learn to have an eternal perspective on our circumstances.

When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
When fear comes, I choose to trust.

In God I trust; I will not be afraid.
When fear comes, I choose to trust.
And when I choose to trust, I don’t have to stay afraid.

God’s Word tells us not to be afraid of what people can do to us.

David asked “What can mortal man do to me?” Man can only kill the body, not the soul. Eternity with God is secure for those who know Him.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28

Paul encourages us with the truth that no one can separate from the love of God in Christ Jesus. With His love, we can endure hardship, persecution, and the sword.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

When David was afraid, he traded his fear for trust in God. We know David’s fear was intense because he cried tears as he called on God for help.

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me. (v. 8-9 ESV)

God sees and values our tears. He keeps a record of them. Our tears and our fears are important to God. He does not dismiss them.

God is for us.
We can trust Him.

Fear happens.
When, not if.
I love the honesty of God’s Word.
I love that the truth that meets us where we live and shows us the way to the Father.

I love that God’s Word doesn’t make fear a small thing, a weak thing. Fear is treated as an important emotion to recognize. We aren’t told to just get over it. We are shown the way to bring our fear to our loving Father and exchange it for trust in Him.

When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

In God I trust; I will not be [stay] afraid.

This I know, that God is for me.

I will present my thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life. (v. 12-13)

Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank you for showing me what to do when I’m afraid. When I am afraid, I will trust in You. Thank you that no one and no circumstance can separate me from Your love. This I know: You are for me. You have delivered me and given me the gift of salvation through Your Son, Jesus. I want to walk with You today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

psalm 56