Why do I do what I do? I've contemplated that question today. During the course of the day, there were a couple of Aha moments. During those moments I began to realize the importance of being a Mom and the value of doing what I do. It may be slow and gradual, but God is showing me that the little things we work on in a day do grow into bigger things!
For starters my friend Amanda and I had gotten together for some girl time. :) We ate together, shared current events, encouraged each other and even solved some of the worlds problems! At the end of our visit, she reminded me of the app that shows you how many weeks you have left with your child. It's based on their birth date and graduation. I quickly looked up how many weeks I/we have with Michael and there was a sobering 261 weeks! That was the first Aha moment.
After school, Michael had some down time then we headed out the door to Grandma's house. She was having us over for dinner, but I like to multitask, so while she cooked supper, Michael worked on homework and I mowed her lawn.
On our way to my Mother in law's house, I noticed Michael's attitude needed some adjusting. I did find out that in this last full week of school the teachers piled on the homework and projects. Guess they want to end the year in a bang! He was upset because he was feeling overwhelmed by all the projects due this week. I tried reassuring him that I would help him with it. I advised him on working on what was due first and to take it one step at a time. I pointed out that I would guide him, not do his work for him, just help point him in the right direction. He wanted none of it. He wants to be independent. It's so hard as a Mom to let go!
We got to Mom's house and Michael quickly set up his work station. After mowing, and before supper, I tried to pry some information from him. Just seeing how things were going. This was met with opposition, to which I dug in my heels and decided, I'm the Mom and I set the rules. Both of us on a stubborn streak, neither of us budging. I prayed, "God what do I do here?". That's when I realized more than working on any homework assignment, we needed to work on attitudes. One simple question came to mind. What would Jesus do? I know it was God giving me the answer to my short, yet urgent request. What would Jesus do? I mean he's not Jesus and I'm certainly no Mary the mother of Jesus. But I really wanted both of us to contemplate it. That was Aha moment number two.
I asked Michael, "What would Jesus do?". Still no change in the attitude. I told him I would not comply to his rudely offered request until he figured out the answer to that question (and demonstrated it). The question just hung in the air and I waited in silence as the wheels were turning in his brain. Finally the light began to dawn. He made his request of me in a polite tone of voice and he even said please. :) This time I immediately complied!
After supper, Michael went back to his homework session. One assignment was to find 5 songs that represent who you are. To which I quickly started singing one that's my theme song "cause I got a few dents in my fender, got a couple rips in my jeans." Then we started thinking of songs that would represent Michael. For me the assignment was easy and I could have done it in a flash, but my son is a different bird- takes after his Dad! We came up with some fun songs like Oh Chihuahua! and a couple of silly type songs. But were there any songs of the Christian genre that represent who Michael is? He finally admitted that he likes some of Steven Curtis Chapman's music. To which my heart was doing a happy dance, but I remained calm on the outside. He couldn't think of the title, so he told me some of the words from the song. I quickly gave him the title, Do Everything
Aha moment number 3!Here I didn't think he had a song and he picks the Grand Daddy of them all for meaning and purpose! Michael chose wisely and from a Mother's heart I hope that desire never changes!
So why do I do what I do? To bring glory to God! Whether it's laundry, mowing the lawn,.. well I'll just let SCC give you a better idea. This is the verse that Michael remembered::
Do Everything
. . .
Maybe your that guy with the suit and the tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers
cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day
Little Stuff
Big Stuff
In between stuff
God sees it all the same
While I may not know you
I bet I know you
wonder sometimes, Does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Small, Everyday Miracles
Little by little God is growing me! It's true! This morning upon waking, my head throbbing, my body weary from a fitful night's sleep and thinking about the task at hand, I just cried out to God for the strength to do it without complaining. He so graciously answered that heartfelt prayer!
As I was driving in the car, I began to reflect on how God gave me the help I needed this morning to just do the necessary things to get my son out the door, care for the dog, get ready and tough it out without any pain med or food till I got through with my blood work!
I also recalled a phrase I came across when I was reading in the Bible taken from Mark 6:51-52 "Then He climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in." The phrase, "...for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves." played over in my head.
Upon thinking of this scripture I witnessed something when we were attending Kenmore Alliance Church up in Tonawanda, NY. The event left me and another onlooker shocked! We as a family were heavily involved in AWANA, the church's children's program that met on Wed. nights. One particular Wed. night, we were having some kind of party in which several of us were asked to bring some kind of snack cakes to pass out to the kids. Well it was one of those nights where several people at the last minute, couldn't make it due to sickness or unforeseen events and so those of us who did show up brought our snack cakes to pass out. But we were short on supplies. There was no time to go to the store. The cakes were placed on the table to serve and the kids came through to grab them. A lady and I looked at the line up of kids and the amount of snack cakes on the table and we were both like, there's no way there will be enough cakes to go around for all these kids! To our amazement every child went through that line and got a snack cake! I seem to recall there were even a couple leftover!
It would be easy to rationalize or explain that away, but I personally witnessed it! There is no doubt in my mind, God performed a small miracle that night! It is so easy to forget the little things God does, answers to prayer,His mercies that are new every morning, help in the night when fighting a headache and in last night's case no way to take any of my normal pain medicine, just rely on God! Now I will say this, my dear friend Joy Walton shared with me some of her herbal oil for sinus issues. I did have that available and some icy hot and so I was able to use those items for my headache. I am incredibly thankful to Joy, because I was living on sinus meds and since I've been using the R.C. oil I've drastically cut back the amount of sinus/allergy meds I was taking!! Again one of those small miracles if you will that God has brought to me!
As I was driving I was also thinking of my friend Amanda Quinn. She had requested prayer because her daughter needed to see a specialist. In the weeks that had passed while waiting for the appointment, she received a call from the hospital that there were some complications with the insurance coverage. She asked the small group I attend to please pray that the insurance coverage would go through. Well, her daughter's appointment is today and as of yesterday, 8 days after she'd requested prayer she got a call and the insurance company did approve the visit with the specialist! Again, some could rationalize or explain this away, but when God takes care of His children, you can't deny it!!!
Simply and Honestly I'm thankful for small, everyday kind of miracles! There's a song that pleas with God, Open the eyes of my heart Lord, Open the Eyes of my heart, I want to see you. I want to see you.... My prayer for myself, is that God will help me to see the significance of the little everyday miracles He does in my life!
As I was driving in the car, I began to reflect on how God gave me the help I needed this morning to just do the necessary things to get my son out the door, care for the dog, get ready and tough it out without any pain med or food till I got through with my blood work!
I also recalled a phrase I came across when I was reading in the Bible taken from Mark 6:51-52 "Then He climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed, for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in." The phrase, "...for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves." played over in my head.
Upon thinking of this scripture I witnessed something when we were attending Kenmore Alliance Church up in Tonawanda, NY. The event left me and another onlooker shocked! We as a family were heavily involved in AWANA, the church's children's program that met on Wed. nights. One particular Wed. night, we were having some kind of party in which several of us were asked to bring some kind of snack cakes to pass out to the kids. Well it was one of those nights where several people at the last minute, couldn't make it due to sickness or unforeseen events and so those of us who did show up brought our snack cakes to pass out. But we were short on supplies. There was no time to go to the store. The cakes were placed on the table to serve and the kids came through to grab them. A lady and I looked at the line up of kids and the amount of snack cakes on the table and we were both like, there's no way there will be enough cakes to go around for all these kids! To our amazement every child went through that line and got a snack cake! I seem to recall there were even a couple leftover!
It would be easy to rationalize or explain that away, but I personally witnessed it! There is no doubt in my mind, God performed a small miracle that night! It is so easy to forget the little things God does, answers to prayer,His mercies that are new every morning, help in the night when fighting a headache and in last night's case no way to take any of my normal pain medicine, just rely on God! Now I will say this, my dear friend Joy Walton shared with me some of her herbal oil for sinus issues. I did have that available and some icy hot and so I was able to use those items for my headache. I am incredibly thankful to Joy, because I was living on sinus meds and since I've been using the R.C. oil I've drastically cut back the amount of sinus/allergy meds I was taking!! Again one of those small miracles if you will that God has brought to me!
As I was driving I was also thinking of my friend Amanda Quinn. She had requested prayer because her daughter needed to see a specialist. In the weeks that had passed while waiting for the appointment, she received a call from the hospital that there were some complications with the insurance coverage. She asked the small group I attend to please pray that the insurance coverage would go through. Well, her daughter's appointment is today and as of yesterday, 8 days after she'd requested prayer she got a call and the insurance company did approve the visit with the specialist! Again, some could rationalize or explain this away, but when God takes care of His children, you can't deny it!!!
Simply and Honestly I'm thankful for small, everyday kind of miracles! There's a song that pleas with God, Open the eyes of my heart Lord, Open the Eyes of my heart, I want to see you. I want to see you.... My prayer for myself, is that God will help me to see the significance of the little everyday miracles He does in my life!
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Vacation Reflections
Ok from the title you might be misled, so I will just say it goes much deeper than remembering vacation memories! We were blessed my husband, Steve, my son, Michael and myself to go on a vacation to sunny Florida. If you saw my last blog entitled "Just Beneath the Bitter Snow", you'll know that we had a rough winter here in NE Ohio, as did much of the U.S.! Funny thing was, while in Orlando visiting Walt Disney World, there were a lot of people there from Ohio!
On this fun filled vacation we did go to several of the Disney theme parks and had a blast! We did however squeeze in some time to visit family members both on Steve's side at the beginning and my side at the end of our trip. While visiting with Steve's second cousins we did learn of several family members whose marriages ended in divorce and several lives that were affected by alcohol. It made us sad to hear of homes that were ruined because someone was addicted to alcohol.
That was how we began our trip to sunny Florida. Kind of like a wake up call to be vigilant and to hold on to each other! This June Steve and I will have been married for 18 years! I can't say it's always been chocolates and roses, because it hasn't! We've had our share of differences, but we can both trace a line back to God that has held us together! When you take two opposite people and bring them together to make a whole, there are times I look at my the other half and say, why does he do it that way?! I know there've been a couple times I've driven Steve crazy with how I've said or done something. Mind you, just a few! But then there are those times when I sit back and watch him do things that are entirely not in my area of expertise and I am blown away! Through it all, we can honestly say, if we did not have a God who helped us look beyond ourselves and look to the needs of the other, we would be another marriage statistic that ended in divorce. There are so many things out there to eat away at the foundation of even the best of marriages. It takes a power bigger than myself to say, I forgive. And that's just for the little stuff!
Our time together as a family visiting Disney was so much fun! We rode rides together, unless I was too chicken! But the nice thing about Michael being a teenager is that he is up for riding those crazy, wild roller coasters! I like my feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much! We made some fantastic memories that still make us laugh! We did take some time each day to read a devotional together and talk about it and to pray for each other. Those were special times! These are the things that are deposited into our memory banks!
Our time at the parks came to an end much too soon! We headed south to see my cousins and my grandparents down in Hobe Sound, Fl. It was so amazing to see my cousins Charlie and Morgan who've chosen to live for Christ, and raise their children to know and love God. It warmed my heart! Also, Amy and Josh are just great examples of parents who are raising their kids in the same way! What a great thing to share that common thread that we have, the difference that Jesus makes in our families and in our marriages!
A final highlight was the time we got to spend with my grandparents. This was yet another deposit into our memory banks. My son got to visit with his great grand parents! I so love them and am so thankful for their faithful example to 68 years of marriage (Ok it will be 68 in June)! They've done everything together, from being a Pastor, to farming to owning and operating a family diner, to caring for their daughter after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. They have always been hard working, salt of the earth kind of people! Not perfect- but in my mind, pretty close! My memories of them singing in church and their prayers that touched Heaven will be forever etched in my memory!
The funny thing is, is that God doesn't have any grandchildren! We are all either His children, or we are not! I cannot claim to have any closer walk with God because of my heritage anymore than Steve can claim that he is a victim of alcohol. We each must make our choice. Our theme verse in our wedding was Joshua 24:15 "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Steve has chosen to break the cycle and not to be a victim of alcohol like his Dad was. Steve has chosen to love and serve God! I have chosen to not be a victim of being a 3rd or 4th generation, ho hum Christian. We have chosen to cherish each other come what may! Simply and honestly I am thankful to God that He gives the power to choose what is good and what is right. It's a choice that we must make every day. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD!
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On this fun filled vacation we did go to several of the Disney theme parks and had a blast! We did however squeeze in some time to visit family members both on Steve's side at the beginning and my side at the end of our trip. While visiting with Steve's second cousins we did learn of several family members whose marriages ended in divorce and several lives that were affected by alcohol. It made us sad to hear of homes that were ruined because someone was addicted to alcohol.
That was how we began our trip to sunny Florida. Kind of like a wake up call to be vigilant and to hold on to each other! This June Steve and I will have been married for 18 years! I can't say it's always been chocolates and roses, because it hasn't! We've had our share of differences, but we can both trace a line back to God that has held us together! When you take two opposite people and bring them together to make a whole, there are times I look at my the other half and say, why does he do it that way?! I know there've been a couple times I've driven Steve crazy with how I've said or done something. Mind you, just a few! But then there are those times when I sit back and watch him do things that are entirely not in my area of expertise and I am blown away! Through it all, we can honestly say, if we did not have a God who helped us look beyond ourselves and look to the needs of the other, we would be another marriage statistic that ended in divorce. There are so many things out there to eat away at the foundation of even the best of marriages. It takes a power bigger than myself to say, I forgive. And that's just for the little stuff!
Our time together as a family visiting Disney was so much fun! We rode rides together, unless I was too chicken! But the nice thing about Michael being a teenager is that he is up for riding those crazy, wild roller coasters! I like my feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much! We made some fantastic memories that still make us laugh! We did take some time each day to read a devotional together and talk about it and to pray for each other. Those were special times! These are the things that are deposited into our memory banks!
Our time at the parks came to an end much too soon! We headed south to see my cousins and my grandparents down in Hobe Sound, Fl. It was so amazing to see my cousins Charlie and Morgan who've chosen to live for Christ, and raise their children to know and love God. It warmed my heart! Also, Amy and Josh are just great examples of parents who are raising their kids in the same way! What a great thing to share that common thread that we have, the difference that Jesus makes in our families and in our marriages!
A final highlight was the time we got to spend with my grandparents. This was yet another deposit into our memory banks. My son got to visit with his great grand parents! I so love them and am so thankful for their faithful example to 68 years of marriage (Ok it will be 68 in June)! They've done everything together, from being a Pastor, to farming to owning and operating a family diner, to caring for their daughter after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. They have always been hard working, salt of the earth kind of people! Not perfect- but in my mind, pretty close! My memories of them singing in church and their prayers that touched Heaven will be forever etched in my memory!
The funny thing is, is that God doesn't have any grandchildren! We are all either His children, or we are not! I cannot claim to have any closer walk with God because of my heritage anymore than Steve can claim that he is a victim of alcohol. We each must make our choice. Our theme verse in our wedding was Joshua 24:15 "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Steve has chosen to break the cycle and not to be a victim of alcohol like his Dad was. Steve has chosen to love and serve God! I have chosen to not be a victim of being a 3rd or 4th generation, ho hum Christian. We have chosen to cherish each other come what may! Simply and honestly I am thankful to God that He gives the power to choose what is good and what is right. It's a choice that we must make every day. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Just Beneath the Bitter Snow
If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then we Ohioans are truly ready for some warmer weather! I've determined in my heart that I am not going to complain about the weather we've been given! Growing up in Md. we'd get a rough winter on a rare occurrence but even then the heavy snows would melt and warmer weather would come back pretty quickly relatively speaking.
But I married a newspaper man and he took me even further south with his job. We lived down south for the first six years of our marriage. That just meant an occasional dusting of snow or some ice. Again the cold would be there briefly and it would warm up to the 40's or even the 50's. Then we moved from our beautiful home in Tn. to Buffalo, NY! So that was kind of a shock! We did live just above the snow belt so when the "south towns" got dumped on, we got significantly less snow! It was frigid in the winter, but being Buffalo, it was expected and you just toughened up and got through it! School cancellations because of snow where a rarity. And don't park out on the street because the snow plows needed to get through!
Now fast forward to our family living in NE Ohio. This year marks our fifth year to experience winter here in Ohio. I've got to say this past winter of Nov2013- March 2014 has been the longest, coldest and snowiest winter of my life! I think because I have determined to not be a complainer I have looked for what could be the positives from all this snow and cold. So the following will be my observations and my lessons I'm learning during this winter of my life.
For starters when snow comes to the south it's usually right around freezing or just a little below. I know this winter just about everywhere has been much harder for everyone. (I just saw a friend posted from Texas they just went from 80 degrees on Saturday to 19 degrees and snow on the ground on Sunday!) So I know this harsh winter is not just here in Ohio! But when the temperatures drop to the teens or single digits the snow does something absolutely stunningly beautiful. There are these diamonds in the snow. It's beautiful and it's harsh at the same time! Out of something so cold and extreme can come something so breathtakingly beautiful! I've tried capturing it in photos and I just can't get it with the capabilities I have anyway. But every time I see that beauty I'm reminded of Heaven! Maybe because my Mom is there and I am sure there are some siblings that Michael has up there too. But in the harshness of this life there is something beautiful to cling to! Heaven! It is way more dear to my heart theses days!
Another thing observed this winter, goes back to last winter. I had trimmed our rose bushes a little too much in the Fall of 2012. When Spring/Summer of 2013 came There was no life in those rose bushes. I had done them in. But rather than dig them up and get rid of them I decided to see if they would come back with some prodding. Two of the three did come back, but it took all summer for them to come back to life! Finally at the tail end of summer, no actually this was late in Oct. my one rose bush got 6 huge buds! I checked on them daily, waiting, hoping in joyful expectation of when those buds would open up and bloom. They never did bloom and I in fear never did trim back those rose bushes this past Fall. When Thanksgiving rolled around those buds were still there and I have a picture of 3 pumpkins by the rose bush with a dusting of snow on the ground. All winter long I've looked out the front window and have seen those huge rose buds covered in snow! There's a song entitled The Rose The last verse of the song is as follows:
When the night has been too lonely
a
But I married a newspaper man and he took me even further south with his job. We lived down south for the first six years of our marriage. That just meant an occasional dusting of snow or some ice. Again the cold would be there briefly and it would warm up to the 40's or even the 50's. Then we moved from our beautiful home in Tn. to Buffalo, NY! So that was kind of a shock! We did live just above the snow belt so when the "south towns" got dumped on, we got significantly less snow! It was frigid in the winter, but being Buffalo, it was expected and you just toughened up and got through it! School cancellations because of snow where a rarity. And don't park out on the street because the snow plows needed to get through!
Now fast forward to our family living in NE Ohio. This year marks our fifth year to experience winter here in Ohio. I've got to say this past winter of Nov2013- March 2014 has been the longest, coldest and snowiest winter of my life! I think because I have determined to not be a complainer I have looked for what could be the positives from all this snow and cold. So the following will be my observations and my lessons I'm learning during this winter of my life.
For starters when snow comes to the south it's usually right around freezing or just a little below. I know this winter just about everywhere has been much harder for everyone. (I just saw a friend posted from Texas they just went from 80 degrees on Saturday to 19 degrees and snow on the ground on Sunday!) So I know this harsh winter is not just here in Ohio! But when the temperatures drop to the teens or single digits the snow does something absolutely stunningly beautiful. There are these diamonds in the snow. It's beautiful and it's harsh at the same time! Out of something so cold and extreme can come something so breathtakingly beautiful! I've tried capturing it in photos and I just can't get it with the capabilities I have anyway. But every time I see that beauty I'm reminded of Heaven! Maybe because my Mom is there and I am sure there are some siblings that Michael has up there too. But in the harshness of this life there is something beautiful to cling to! Heaven! It is way more dear to my heart theses days!
Another thing observed this winter, goes back to last winter. I had trimmed our rose bushes a little too much in the Fall of 2012. When Spring/Summer of 2013 came There was no life in those rose bushes. I had done them in. But rather than dig them up and get rid of them I decided to see if they would come back with some prodding. Two of the three did come back, but it took all summer for them to come back to life! Finally at the tail end of summer, no actually this was late in Oct. my one rose bush got 6 huge buds! I checked on them daily, waiting, hoping in joyful expectation of when those buds would open up and bloom. They never did bloom and I in fear never did trim back those rose bushes this past Fall. When Thanksgiving rolled around those buds were still there and I have a picture of 3 pumpkins by the rose bush with a dusting of snow on the ground. All winter long I've looked out the front window and have seen those huge rose buds covered in snow! There's a song entitled The Rose The last verse of the song is as follows:
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.
Regeneration is the name of a group my brother and I listened to during the late 70's and early 80's s. They sang a version of The Rose that I still remember to this day, because at the end of that last verse they added "Oh love of God how rich and pure. It shall forever more endure. Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snow, lies the seed that with the SON's love in the spring becomes the rose.
Simply and honestly I am so thankful that with the love of Jesus in my life and in yours too, that He makes all things new! I think after this longest, coldest and snowiest of winters of my life that Spring holds a greater promise! Looking for the blooms to blossom and it won't be long now!
a
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Sleep Deprived and Still Alive!
Well here I am in the middle of the night and this comic pretty wells spells it out for you! Whoever came up with this one sure knew what they were talking about! All kinds of ideas, plans and thoughts run through my mind when I can't sleep. Some of my best ideas come at this insane time of day or should I say night! Thoughts on things I can do with Michael, or maybe it's a new recipe I read and I think about what night I want to make that one for supper. Or just crazy stuff about something funny that happened and yes sometimes I think about the worlds problems and try to solve them. Always with the reminder in the back of my mind from Bella, my Taiwanese friend, "Don't think too much" and then the thought I think too much! Ha! The irony of it! Thinking too much about thinking too much! I think right about now I'll break out into Heeey Macarena!
After tossing and turning I finally decided to get up and put some of these thought processes into something. As I type I think my brain is slooowly unwinding. So, does anyone else out there have this same "gifting" of not being able to sleep very well at night? What to do about it? Suggestions, anyone? Please! Let me just say, I've tried it all, sleep evaluation, Melatonin, Ambien, Lunesta, Tylenol PM, natural herbal stuff. What I've found that works best for me is to get up out of bed, ugh and go read. More often than not I turn on some old reruns of I Love Lucy and put the sleep timer on. That usually does the trick. But it's still disrupted sleep and it's not quality sleep. By the time it's time to get up and make sure my son has breakfast and is ready for school, I'm like a zombie. Poor kid what kind of things will he remember about his mother when he's grown and on his own? (I'm digressing)
Wish I could say I get up and pray in the night watches or that I read my Bible when I get up. Confession- I do try to do that. Prayer gets me worked up and then I'm so ratcheted up that I really can't get my mind to go back to sleep or just plain go to sleep in the first place! There's a time and place for prayer- usually throughout my day as things come up, I've got this ongoing conversation with God. And I am making concerted efforts to have a block of time every day to just focus on praying. My brother pointed out to me and I was totally convicted, that Jesus took time away to pray. I can even tell you it's in Mark chapter 1 without even looking it up. So yeah, I should have known that! Sometimes you just need someone who loves you enough to tell you the challenging truth! Thanks Douglas Arnold!
Reading the Bible in the middle of the night? Yes that works! Not just reading it to read it. But really thinking about it. Maybe this sounds like a contradiction but the more I read it and think about what I'm reading the more my mind winds down. Asking questions, digging for answers to understand what I'm reading better. Checking it in several versions, it works! Reading commentary on what I'm questioning. Take for example the other night, (in my read through the Bible on a 2 year plan) I'm reading in Genesis about when Abraham sends his servant off to his homeland to find a wife for his son Issac. His servant no more than finishes praying for God's guidance when out comes Rebekah. Just as he prayed for a sign as to whom would be the right one to be the wife of his boss's son, she offers to give him water and to water his camels too. So my mind is thinking ok, she is Issacs uncle's daughter. Then I'm trying to see if I've got that right and before you know it, I'm asleep. Glasses on, iPad on- glad it turns off after what 30 seconds?. So yeah that works!
So in my normal quote when I remember to put it in here, simply and honestly the bottom line is this, you can't go wrong with searching through the Bible. I've gotten all modern with my Bible reading, using my iPad with a tracker. In my teen years I grew up with a regular hard cover copy of the Bible and later graduated to leather and now I'm all electronic in my Bible reading. However you do it, if your reading it and thinking about it and it's God's Word, it works!
In closing what better way to close than to share one of my favorites to read in the middle of the night. When I really think about it the author of this Psalm must have had sleep issues too. You'll see what I mean. It's Psalm 16. I'm just sharing verses 7-9 but the whole Psalm has some great things to think about when you're trying to fall asleep. Ok enough of my words!
I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
Friday, January 17, 2014
The Right Place at the Right Time
This wasn't in my plan for today. The old saying "Strike while the iron's hot" holds true. Sometimes you just can't plan inspiration! It just happens and when it does you gotta take action (if you want to take advantage of it that is!).
At the onset of this year I wanted to stop being so random in my devotional time. So I chose the One Year Read through the Bible plan- with one exception- for me it's a Two Year Read through the Bible plan! :) I can feel like super Christian and do the whole thing in a year, but how much would I actually be taking in and applying to my everyday life?
With that as my premise I just want to say God is doing something in these daily Bible reading times. Most noteworthy has happened this past week. For starters in the plan there are selections from the O.T. and N.T. to read each day plus a Psalm & Proverb. Within a 24 hr. period God emphasized how He takes care of His own.
I read in Genesis of the account of Abraham pleading with God to not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 50, and God told him he wouldn't destroy the cities for the sake of 50 people. So Abraham gets brave and bargains for 45, then 40, 30, 20, and finally he bargained for the sake of 10. All of which God reassured him He would not destroy the cities.
The people of these two cities were so wicked and far from God that God told Abraham, "I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know."
In the end the people of the city of Sodom want nothing but evil. God sends angels to warn Abraham's nephew Lot and warns him to get his family out of there because God is going to destroy the city. Lot tries to tell his son in laws about it, but they just think it's a joke and pay no attention. Just before dawn the angels urge Lot and his family to leave the city now because at dawn the city is going to be destroyed. In the end it is only Lot and his wife and 2 daughters that leave the city unscathed by God's judgement.
Next I read in Matthew and Jesus is talking (it's in red letters). "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" (Matthew 6:25-26) I think that passage speaks for itself!
Finally I get the awesome privilege to teach Children's Bible Quizzing in my local church. The kids make it all worth while. They aren't afraid to ask the really tough questions and I have grown so much just from "teaching" them when in actuality they are teaching me! Anyway, the passage we went over on Wed. night was in Genesis and it's the section that pertains to the life of Joseph. When God strategically places Joseph as second in command to help save many lives from starving during a 7 year famine. God gave a warning through a dream that Pharaoh had and God used Joseph to interpret the dream and devise a plan to take care of the people of Egypt. In fact the Bible says that people came from all over the world to get food in Egypt because the famine was so great. Here's the part that jumped out at me! "As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure." (Gen. 41:47-49)
Ok, so Jesus points out that birds don't store up and yet God takes care of them. He also says that we are much more valuable to God than the birds. Here in Genesis, Joseph is storing up grain, we humans have the capability to plan ahead for the future. Birds not so much. Either way God takes care of us. God let Joseph know enough in advance that they needed to be saving the grain and so they did. People literally were kept from starving to death because of it. And then there's Lot and his family. They were only 6 people out of a possible population of 600-1200 people! I'm not a mathematician but that's like less than 1% of the population that God took care of!
Simply and honestly here's my take away, God will take care of us. Even if it looks impossible He will take care of us! He is so worthy of our trust! He is able to move the events and people in our lives in such a way to put us in the right place at the right time in order for His plans to succeed. Some may say it's coincidence, but I know there have been too many times in my life when things worked out in such an unbelievable way that the only explanation was that it was God!
There you have it! My inspiration for the day. I hope this is an encouragement to someone today!
At the onset of this year I wanted to stop being so random in my devotional time. So I chose the One Year Read through the Bible plan- with one exception- for me it's a Two Year Read through the Bible plan! :) I can feel like super Christian and do the whole thing in a year, but how much would I actually be taking in and applying to my everyday life?
With that as my premise I just want to say God is doing something in these daily Bible reading times. Most noteworthy has happened this past week. For starters in the plan there are selections from the O.T. and N.T. to read each day plus a Psalm & Proverb. Within a 24 hr. period God emphasized how He takes care of His own.
I read in Genesis of the account of Abraham pleading with God to not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 50, and God told him he wouldn't destroy the cities for the sake of 50 people. So Abraham gets brave and bargains for 45, then 40, 30, 20, and finally he bargained for the sake of 10. All of which God reassured him He would not destroy the cities.
The people of these two cities were so wicked and far from God that God told Abraham, "I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know."
In the end the people of the city of Sodom want nothing but evil. God sends angels to warn Abraham's nephew Lot and warns him to get his family out of there because God is going to destroy the city. Lot tries to tell his son in laws about it, but they just think it's a joke and pay no attention. Just before dawn the angels urge Lot and his family to leave the city now because at dawn the city is going to be destroyed. In the end it is only Lot and his wife and 2 daughters that leave the city unscathed by God's judgement.
Next I read in Matthew and Jesus is talking (it's in red letters). "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" (Matthew 6:25-26) I think that passage speaks for itself!
Finally I get the awesome privilege to teach Children's Bible Quizzing in my local church. The kids make it all worth while. They aren't afraid to ask the really tough questions and I have grown so much just from "teaching" them when in actuality they are teaching me! Anyway, the passage we went over on Wed. night was in Genesis and it's the section that pertains to the life of Joseph. When God strategically places Joseph as second in command to help save many lives from starving during a 7 year famine. God gave a warning through a dream that Pharaoh had and God used Joseph to interpret the dream and devise a plan to take care of the people of Egypt. In fact the Bible says that people came from all over the world to get food in Egypt because the famine was so great. Here's the part that jumped out at me! "As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure." (Gen. 41:47-49)
Ok, so Jesus points out that birds don't store up and yet God takes care of them. He also says that we are much more valuable to God than the birds. Here in Genesis, Joseph is storing up grain, we humans have the capability to plan ahead for the future. Birds not so much. Either way God takes care of us. God let Joseph know enough in advance that they needed to be saving the grain and so they did. People literally were kept from starving to death because of it. And then there's Lot and his family. They were only 6 people out of a possible population of 600-1200 people! I'm not a mathematician but that's like less than 1% of the population that God took care of!
Simply and honestly here's my take away, God will take care of us. Even if it looks impossible He will take care of us! He is so worthy of our trust! He is able to move the events and people in our lives in such a way to put us in the right place at the right time in order for His plans to succeed. Some may say it's coincidence, but I know there have been too many times in my life when things worked out in such an unbelievable way that the only explanation was that it was God!
There you have it! My inspiration for the day. I hope this is an encouragement to someone today!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
For Such A Time As This
Every morning my husband wakes up first, and when I do finally come out of my deep slumber because that's the best sleep I get all night is right before it's time to get up! I ask my husband the same question, "What time is it?". Well similarly I have a question about time and it's just the beginning of 2014, I am already wondering, "Will this be the year?" Our time, right here, right now is the time God has put us in. To borrow a phrase from Esther, "For such a time as this". This concept of where God allowed me to be born geographically and historically came to my mind early on in 2013 as I went with Ron Gay and a team or volunteers to Guatemala on what is known as a Work and Witness trip.
Through the Church of the Nazarene, local churches can assemble teams to go to where there are missionaries or foreign congregations that are in need of either Medical support, Construction or Evangelistic type needs. It is short term, around 10-15 days, but those 10-15 days can change your life! Our team went to help with construction needs and to do some child evangelism (that's the part I do, don't ask me to paint or use any type of extender poles or to stand on a ladder- you can ask my husband about it!)
Going to Guatemala was an eye opening experience for me, because as we went to the village I saw people living so poor and needy and yet so content. I could go on and on, especially comparing our "needs" and theirs but that would be getting off my original topic. Seeing these people made me question, "What if God in His sovereignty had me born here in Guatemala?". What if instead of having a beautiful home with carpeted floors I lived in a shack with dirt floors and instead of having running water, I had to use an outhouse? Or, what about those nice long hot showers I take on a cold day?
My son was studying the book of Acts in Children's Bible Quizzing at the time I was preparing to go to Guatemala. In studying with him I saw the apostle Paul declare that God chooses the time and place we are born! Act 17:26 (NIV) says, "From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." (That whole passage Acts 17:16-34 is powerful, if you get a chance look it up and really think about what what is happening and what Paul is saying. It will blow you away!)
Well fast forward through the year of 2013 for me, as I'm sure for you it was a year of ups and downs and things that weren't planned on happened. Some good, some bad and some that make me very sad. At year end a friend went home to be with the Lord. She left behind 5 boys ranging in age from 6-12 years old. She was a single Mom and had been fighting Leukemia for the sake of her boys she fought long and hard over the past 4 years.
As I sat in the memorial service different people shared how she had touched their lives and the events in her final weeks and days on this earth. The rather morbid thought came to mind, when it all comes down to the end what do I want people to say about me? I hope and pray that I live out my days helping to build the Kingdom of God ( and I don't mean construction wise- if you know what I mean, because I'm not good at that!)
So back to my opening thought, "Will this be the year?" Our time, right here, right now, is much like the times were when Jesus came to the earth as a baby. "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light" Are not the days growing darker? And in the midst of that darkness shines the Light of Jesus! We live in an exciting time when prophecies about Jesus' return are lining up and drawing us closer to the day when our Lord returns! So could this be the year? I don't know. All I know is when He does return I want to be found busy shining that light and being used for building His kingdom!
Happy New Year! I close with the words from this song by Josh Wilson that hit me right between the eyes yesterday!
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