Protecting the Family

    Today we went to school. We worked in two English classes and helped the students with their English. We taught them their body parts, left and right, and in and out by teaching the hokey pokey! It was a hit. The girls especially love putting the hips in and out! lol We then shared stories of our families and then what God says about family from scripture. The teacher then added encouragement to what we said. We learned that the majority of these students do not have parents living in the home and some even live by themselves and take care of their siblings. We shared how God says in scripture that if your father and mother abandon you, that He would always be with you. Every face was glued to the words Brittne would translate and speak. When we closed, the teacher asked the students if they had any other questions and a boy raised his hands and asked how you find Jesus. Brittne was able to share the complete gospel with the children and the teacher who is so close to understanding.

     I realized when I was hearing about how Satan is attacking the families in Peru, how he works the same everywhere. His character, his style, and his tactics do not change. The only difference is how strong the Christian stronghold is where he is attacking. If America doesn’t wake up; if Christians do not wake up and protect the family; our world will fall even more so into the hands of Satan.
      I am sure that all of us have been affected by the blows of destroyed homes. We must stop the cycle. However, to make a difference in our homes, Jesus has to make a difference in our individual lives. Not on the surface; in the deep core of our soul. He has to change us!
     Does Jesus really make a difference in your life? Does He really make a difference in your home? Why settle for anything other than the best Jesus can give?

My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.

Psalms 27:10

Are we known by our love?

     After fifteen hours of traveling through airports and an eighteen hour bus ride through the night and then a two hour ride in a truck, we made it to our village. It is like being in another world. It doesn’t take long to develop an appreciation for those who live around us but do not fit in. When you are the only white people (gringos) in a village, everyone stares. There is no blending in. Also, the average height is approximately five feet and one of the guys with us is 6’4. Everyone looks at him as if he is Goliath! The faces of the children when he walks in are priceless. As far as we know, there are four believers out of about 400 people in the village. We have so many differences: nationality, skin color, language, economic status, occupations, culture, and knowledge of the world. The hardest difference for me is the language. I struggle tremendously. I wish I could remove this hindrance of the language barrier and yet, the Lord reminded me that He was the who created it to begin with. At one time we all spoke the same language and I believe that we will once again return to a single language in Heaven or at least we will all be able to understand each other. That will be an awesome time. Having the hindrances of language keeps us humble and dependent. When people became too prideful and too united, God separated the people and formed different languages. They were going to build a stairway to heaven. God didn’t go for that idea and so He separated them both physically and verbally.

     I must admit that if I could speak the language of the villagers I would depend on my words more than my actions to show the love of Jesus to them. When I do not have the words, I must rely on my smile, my touch, my hug to show love. That is my goal this week, to show the love of Jesus without words.
     So many people are sick of our words. Even God in Revelations tells us He is sick of our words. We have always heard the saying, ‘Words without actions are dead”. What are you speaking to the people around you? Are you saying one thing and being another? If your life was a silent movie without any sound, how far into the movie would it take someone to know that you were a Christian?

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34-35

Got A Ticket?

     As I spent hours yesterday sitting in an airport watching people, I thought about how each person I saw was on their way to a gate. Gates spread out over what sometimes seemed miles. Some people were frantically running to their gates, some were searching for their gate, and some were waiting impatiently to go through their gate. Some pass the time by reading, working on the computer, talking on the phones or to traveling friends, eating, walking around, sleeping, or just watching people. The one thing that all these people had in common was they were all going to walk through a gate and be taken to a destination. Some destinations were paradises and some were far from it; but they were all going somewhere. All they had to do was to have a ticket and an ID. They would hand those to the attendant, walk down a plank, take a seat, lean back for the flight, and find themselves somewhere else. I entered a gate at 10:30 a.m. yesterday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and walked through my destination gate at 12:39 a.m. in Lima, Peru.

      It made me ponder about spiritual destinations. If our life here on this earth is an airport; we have only two gates and they are miles apart. As we watch the people in this airport, the one thing that all these people had in common is that at different flight times they will all walk through one of those two gates and will be taken to new destination with no return flight. One destination is paradise and one is hell! Everyone has been given a ticket to hell the day they were born but some have exchanged their ticket for a ticket to paradise which was purchased for them by Jesus Christ. Yet, some (probably most) have never accepted their new ticket that Jesus offers to them! When the boarding call begins there are no more opportunities to exchange. You will walk to the gate for Heaven and if you have a ticket and your name is on the passenger list (the Book of Life), you walk through the gate. If it is not, you go to the other gate. Now in this airport, there is one major difference. There will be people screaming and fighting and pleading to be allowed through the Heaven gate, but they will be dragged through the gate of Hell. It will be is a heart wrenching sight.
     One day our final boarding call will be announced. What ticket do you hold in your hand?

And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15

All In God's Hand

    I am sitting in the Houston airport waiting to board a plane for Panama City and then on to Lima to begin my week of missions in the Andes mountains. As every event in my life, it has been a journey to even this point. We woke on time and I was feeling pretty good since I was able to clean my house and even shampoo my carpets. We left at 7:30 with the two girls that were riding with us, on time and in the truck. Our next stop was to pick up the gentleman that is going with us on the way to the airport. We were going to pick him up at 8:15. It was between those two destinations that we started feeling the attack from the enemy. First we ran into a little traffic on our two lane road. Then I randomly asked the sister of one of the young women from Fusion going with the group, how old she was. She said she was 16 years old. Instantly, I felt sick. I knew from previous experience that to take a minor out of the country you need a notarized letter from the parent giving permission. Now, when you have the letter, you are not always asked for it, but if you don’t have the letter, the odds are you will be asked for it. We were on the phone talking to the mother of the teenager asking her to fax a letter (while we're driving to the airport). Our friend of ours owns a company by the airport and we had her send the letter to him. As Dwayne was on the phone trying to get things worked out, he saw red lights in his rear view. Yes, he was being pulled over by a highway patrolman. He knew he wasn’t speeding and was very confused as to why we were going to have this delay. Within a minute into our visit at the window with the officer, he informed Dwayne that he had pulled him over because when he had passed him on the left lane and then signaled to get into the right lane, he did not keep his signal on during the complete lane change. I think we both thought, “Are you kidding! Are we being videoed on candid camera or something?” Dwayne followed the officer to his vehicle where he was given a warning for improper changing of lanes. Now we were 15 minutes past our second destination point to pick up our guy. Due to some error in communication as to the exact point, we drove pass them. Thankfully, they saw us drive by and called. We pulled over again to wait (it was faster for them to come to us than for us to turn around and go back). Now we had the decision to make rather to go check in at the airport and then go get the fax or go get the fax and be past our 2 hour check in time for international flights. Again, thank God for great friends, our friend drove the fax to us at the airport and we did not have to risk being too late. Most of the time,it doesn't taketoo much time to get through the security lines in Tulsa; right? Well not today! We had sat and drank coffee before the security point because there wasn’t a line and literally minutes before we went to get in line, it magically became a really long line. After around 30 minutes we made it to the security officer and as I handed him my passport, the doors to the security area closed and he looked at me and said, “This isn’t good!” At first I thought it was that the x-ray machines went down but he told me that it was because they had found something that wasn’t good! Luckily the doors reopened before I had time to panic. Once we got through the gate everything went smoothly.

     We all need to be reminded that anytime we start a journey of obedience to God’s calling, Satan will try and trip us up. However, Jesus Christ has overcome Satan and He has no real power in our life. He can cause some irritation but the will of God always prevails. Going into the next week, I know that whatever Satan tries to throw our way, God’s will for us to be in Peru will win! All we have to do it to rest in Jesus and go with the flow of the Holy Spirit! Resting in the direction and timing of the Holy Spirit is better than any tranquillizer we can take! (love ya Bev!)
     I have no idea what is in store for me this week, but I don’t need too! I am in the hands of the potter of my life and it is up to Him of what will become of it. I just have to stay on the wheel!

And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do.

Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

Psalm 90:17

P.S. I am going to do my best to write everyday but the timing of the post may be irregular and if internet decides to disappear, so will the devotions. Please pray for our team this week as I will pray for you!

Compassion; Is it in you?

     I think it is interesting to see the last two virtues I have waited until last to share. After some self evaluating, I am wondering if I put them last because they are the hardest for me to achieve. When I was young, I wanted to save the world. I wanted to be a social worker and help people with destroyed lives get better. All they needed was some love and direction from me! lol I majored in Family Service in college and ended up taking the first job I could get when I graduated which was managing a preschool. I was able to stay home when Bryce was born and didn't go back to work until we went to seminary. At that time I became a manager of a temporary service. I was excited to have a position where I could help people find work with the possibility of it working into a full time position. Soon, that excitement turned to frustration when people lied to me day after day. I started out in this position having compassion towards people needing help but after a year in this position, I became hard and mistrusting. I realized I had become a person I didn’t want to be and I sought the Lord to help me find a balance between overly trusting and having a hardened heart. After entering the ministry with Dwayne, I have continued this roller coaster. At times I am very compassionate and giving and at other times I am far from it! So many times I have been fooled by people telling me they want to improve their life. I invest myself and my time to help them, only to find out they didn’t really want to change. Often, I would end up being the only one fighting for their goals, or fighting harder than they did. To top it off, in the end, I lose their relationship because they pull away from me because my presence reminded them of their failure to change. It can really hurt! It is these times that squeeze out my compassion and charity..

     I have pondered this week when I feel compassion and when I don’t. When others are innocent victims, I feel compassion. When they are striving to change their situation, I feel compassion. When others are seeking, I feel compassion. I do not feel compassion when they will not work at changing their circumstance, when they stir the pot until it explodes in their face, when they keep going back to their pit, or when they refuse to listen to anybody. Often words such as, “they got what they deserved”, “I knew it was going to happen", “I tried to tell them”, are words that show we have lost our compassion.
     I have pondered this week when I feel compassion and when I don’t. When others are innocent victims, I feel compassion. When they are striving to change their situation, I feel compassion. When others are seeking, I feel compassion. I do not feel compassion when they will not work at changing their circumstance, when they stir the pot until it explodes in their face, when they keep going back to their pit, or when they refuse to listen to anybody. Often words such as, “they got what they deserved”, “I knew it was going to happen, “I tried to tell them”, are words that show we have lost our compassion.
     I have pondered this week when I feel compassion and when I don’t. When others are innocent victims, I feel compassion. When they are striving to change their situation, I feel compassion. When others are seeking, I feel compassion. I do not feel compassion when they will not work at changing their circumstance, when they stir the pot until it explodes in their face, when they keep going back to their pit, or when they refuse to listen to anybody. Often words such as, “they got what they deserved”, “I knew it was going to happen, “I tried to tell them”, are words that show we have lost our compassion.
     Compassion means to have empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others). It is considered a part of love and is expressed in the ‘Golden Rule’: Do to others what you would have them do to you, (meaning to suffer together). When that compassion moves into benevolent giving, it becomes charity.
     I would love to pat myself on the back and say that many times I have compassion, empathy and sympathy for people and I try to love others. However, it is the times I don’t that keep me from gloating. I am either really good or I really stink. It comes down to who is ruling in the situation: Jesus or me! I need to surrender in every situation and let the Lord’s compassion flow through me. I have a saying that hangs in my house.  It states that people need love when they deserve it least. I think we could substitute compassion and say that people need compassion when they deserve it least. After all, how many times do I deserve it?  Read what Scripture says when the people came to Jesus one day. I'm sure there were some with bad motivations, some who could have helped them self.

As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 14:13-14

Real or Fake?

     Let’s talk about kindness today! To me there are two different kinds of kindness; real kindness and fake kindness! Have you ever known someone that was very kind to you and later find out that it was just an act, or they were just nice when there was something in it for them. I have had that kind of kindness demonstrated to me more times than I can count. I have to admit that it has had its effect on me. I struggle with wondering if a person’s kindness is real and so it takes me awhile to trust. Then I tend to wonder about their sincerity at the first sign of fakeness! The difference for me is whether someone is acting kind or being kind. I have been blessed to know some truly kind people. They would never say an unkind word about anybody and they look for the good in everyone. Anyone can act kind but it takes something other than our fleshly desire to be kind. It takes being filled with the Holy Spirit. Kindness is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit and comes only from living a life in submission to Jesus Christ.
     The definition for kindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behavior, mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others, helpfulness towards someone in need, not seeking return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped".
     These definitions are killing me because it is like looking in a mirror and seeing all of my faults and those faults keep me from achieving another virtue and that is purity. Purity is the absence of impurity in a substance or abstinence from vices and/or abundance of virtue. We will never be able to be pure without living a virtuous life. In reality our sin has marred us from ever being completely pure this side of Heaven. However, thank God, He doesn’t see our impurities when we have accepted Jesus as our Savior; He sees Jesus instead of us!
     Do you want to be a virtuous person? Keep trying to get it right on your own and you will keep failing. Surrender each moment to Jesus and He will make you virtuous by consuming you! All we have to do is be filled with His Spirit. If you had a gage to show you how full you are of the Holy Spirit, what would the gage read?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Peter 1:5-8 NIV

Be diligent with patience!

     Over the last three years I have worked towards a goal in my life. I have never worked towards anything that long, other than being an honorable child to God and a good wife and mother. The goal is to be healthy and to have a healthy BMI by the time I am 50. I have stayed on course for the most part but I am not totally where I want to be and what seemed to be a long ways off, is now four months away. This journey has taught me diligence and patience like nothing else in my life. I have had times of crying, times of temper tantrums, times of bargaining with God, times of frustrations, times of laziness, times of being lackadaisical with eating, and times of being obsessively strict, but through it all, I have persevered and I actually feel proud of myself. I am so thankful for the strength and teaching the Lord has given me through this. Since the main two things I have learned are patience and diligence , let’s look at their definitions!

• Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties.
• Diligence is a zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work, exemplified by a decisive work ethic, budgeting of one's time, monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness, and putting forth full concentration in one's work

     Well, after reading those definitions, let me clarify. I have learned those things in only in my physical life. However, I fall short of those virtues in other areas. Now I need to be diligent to incorporate my growth into the other parts of my life and do so with great patience.

     How do you measure up with these two virtues? Do you act in a positive way or a negative way while you are in times of waiting! Think of the last three things you have said you wanted to do; what are you doing everyday to achieve those goals? Let’s work together to grow our patience and diligence and become virtuous children of God!

 The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.

Proverbs 12:24

Humble or Proud?

     Yesterday I went to Mardel’s to get some stuff for the mission trip next week.  When I walked in, a bracelet and necklace grabbed my attention on the way to the crayons. I have never been able to use this excuse before for buying jewelry but this jewelry is going to help me with my spiritual growth. Dwayne can’t say anything about that excuse! lol The reason I get to claim this excuse is because it is a virtue bracelet and necklace. They each have seven colored glass beads with a cross. Each color represents a virtue to remind me each day to be a virtuous woman. The seven virtues are humility, purity, charity, patience, kindness, diligence, and compassion. To help understand deeper the meaning of my bracelet I am going to write about these virtues this week. Today, I am going to cover humility.
     How often do you hear or say these words, “I don’t deserve that”, “let me tell you what I did”, “I will show them”, “If they treat me like that then I will….” “Who do you think you are” or “I worked hard for what I got”. I wish greatly that I could say that none of those words has ever come across my lips, but I would be lying. I want to consider myself a humble person but when I look into the meaning, I sometimes come up short.
     Humility is described as a quality, character, or virtue.
It is:
• being modest
• reverential
• politely submissive
• egolessness
It is Not:
• arrogant
• contemptuous
• rude
• prideful
• self-abasing
     Humility is defined as: "A quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God's sake". True humility is distinctly different from false humility, which consists of deprecating one's own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise or adulation from others. In this context legitimate humility comprises the following behaviors and attitudes:
1. Submitting to God and legitimate authority
2. Recognizing virtues and talents that others possess, particularly those that surpass one's own, and giving due honor and, when required, obedience
3. Recognizing the limits of one's talents, ability, or authority, and not reaching for what is beyond one's grasp
     That is some pretty hefty standards but scripture tells us that the benefits of humility are honor, wisdom, eternal life, unity, and rewards in heaven. Scripture also tells us in Proverbs, 1 Peter, and James, that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. If we look at the definitions above it is easy to see why. If we are not humble we are not submitting to God’s authority. Jesus was the ultimate example of humility. He is God, yet, He submitted to the authority in this world and allowed man to hang him on a cross. It always bewilders me that I struggle with the smallest submission issues but yet Jesus was not too good to summit to the will of God, even to death. If submission isn’t beneath Jesus, why should it be beneath me?

. . .who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

1 Peter 2:23

Want Blessing?

     One thing in this life is certain; the hand on the clock continues to turn. Time does pass! I have been pondering that a lot lately because Brittne comes home from Peru in less than four weeks. It is amazing! With the exception of a few holidays, time has really flown by. I am looking forward to having her close for a while but I am also excited for something else as well. I am going to Peru in one week. This time I am not going to just to visit Brittne but to go into a village and work alongside her. Last week my team had to make a decision. If we wanted to go to the village where we could do the most work and make the biggest impact, it is was going to take the sacrifice of enduring a 20 hour bus ride to reach that village. That calculates to 40 hours of a 175 hour trip. The team agreed to sacrifice the time and go where we could do the most work for God. Today, as I was looking through some of Brittne’s pictures, I realized that we are going to the village of the 100+ year old woman whom I shared with you previously. She is the one that Brittne bathed and washed her blankets. I am so honored that I am going to get the opportunity to minister to her. Her story has stirred my heart in a powerful way, and now I get to meet her. If we had not had decided to take the sacrificial path, I would not have this opportunity. I am very thankful for our decision. The other blessing I am going to experience is being able to be with my daughter on her last trip to a village. I know it will be hard for her and I will be able to be there and encourage her. Maybe walking in her shoes for one week will help me to encourage her through her transition back to life in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. This week of our lives will definitely be one of our ‘Kodak moments’ that we will cherish for the rest of our lives!
     When we make ourselves available to God and we are willing to sacrifice whatever He calls us to do, we are blessed beyond our imagination. Many people go on mission trips with the mindset of making an impact on others for God. In reality, that is the icing on the cake. The real blessing comes from what impact others make on you for God. I already know that I will not return the same person as I am now. I can’t wait to see how God is going to work in me! I also realize, that my daughter is not returning home as the same person she was two years ago.
     Are you available to what God calls you to do? Are you willing to sacrifice some pleasure to be used by God? Are you willing to let God change you?

“If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.”

John 12:26

A Heart Change

     Today was another funeral day for me. I attended the funeral of a lady who I have grown to love deeply. She was a very unique person and had the unique name of Bronice. I first met Bronice when we went to First Baptist Church in Fort Gibson. I had heard about a 'mean' woman who would tell you like it is. One Sunday, I was going through each of the Sunday school classes to give an announcement. When I went to the older woman’s class, I froze. I wouldn’t go in; ‘she’ was in that room. My husband told me how she wasn’t that bad and I needed to get to know her. I remember thinking, ‘yea, right!’ In time I went with Dwayne to visit her in her home. I started to hear about the difficulties of her life and our hearts soon bonded. Her hardness started fading and I started looking past it! Dwayne and her bantered back and forth continually and brought fun to our relationship with her. Many times she told me how she had never been pretty. When she was young, all the other girls would go to school with their dresses and hair all fixed and she went with overall and pigtail braids. She never did accept any compliment; she just couldn’t believe it. However, to me . . . she became more beautiful each time I visited with her. She taught me many things. She taught me that you cannot judge a book by its cover. She taught me that first impressions are not lasting. She taught me that great treasures can lie beneath hard shells. She taught me that Christians come in many packages. And lastly, she taught me that beauty from the inside is far more attractive than beauty from the outside. I will miss my friend, but I will never let myself be as scared of a person again as I was her.
    If God looks past the surface to the heart, why don’t I? Why do I believe that first impressions are lasting? Why do I believe that I can judge a person by their exterior? May I continue to grow more like Jesus and may I see people with His eyes as I retire mine!

Be honest in your judgment and do not decide at a glance (superficially and by appearances); but judge fairly and righteously.

John 7:24

P.S. Lord, please give Bronice a big hug for me and tell her how beautiful she is!

Why Is It So Hard?

     One of the projects I was going to get done last weekend was to paint the bed in Brittne’s room. The bed was natural wood with spaced planks for the headboard and foot board. I got it from one of my best friends when we were in Montana. It fit into my Montana décor but it hasn’t fit in to well in my current decorating style. I love black furniture so I decided to paint it black. Like everything in my fantasy world, it was going to be a quick and easy process. And, like always I had to leave my fantasy world and enter into reality where it is not easy and usually a big pain! I decided to buy high quality spray paint. I thought this would get in between the planks easier and would not show brush strokes. I even bought two cans of primer to go with my two cans of paint. That gave me one can of primer and one can of paint for each the headboard and foot board. The paint can was the kind you squeeze a trigger which was going to help my fingers which just can’t endure normal spraying. I got through the primer, and then had problems with both cans of paint. One ended up leaking all over me and then I ended up needing three more cans. Back to Lowe’s I went, with paint all over my hands and arms. I decided that I was not buying the expensive can of paint again, so I bought the more reasonably priced one in the same color; black satin. After finishing the bed and with numb fingers, I noticed there was a slight sheen difference in the paints and told myself that it wouldn’t matter out of the sunlight and in the room, but in my heart, I knew I was doing my normal thing of settling for the quick and easy. When I went back to Lowe’s for the spray paint, I was going to get a quart of regular black paint for the side boards and the dresser but I found this great black stain with polyurethane and the sample looked wonderful and just like paint. That is what I bought. When I got home from work today and looked at the bed, it looked very dull. I decided to use the stain on the side boards and it did not go on or look like paint, it looked like dark stain. It did have a shine though, so I painted the bed with a coat of it and thought I would be done. Well, I learned in my Interior Design classes that when you go with the flow, you can have some great creations. I let my creativity flow and decided to use the stain on part of the bed and the black paint on the other part and to mimic the pattern of the bed, on the dresser. In a way, I am two toning the furniture! However, the stain was a little more aged looking than the paint. I decided the paint needed to have an aged effect as well. So, I sanded down the edges. Now, I am going to have to add another layer of stain/polyurethane because I sanded the sheen off the paint. At this point, I don’t know when I will finish the bed. I can tell you though that I will finish and I will love it when I do!
     I often regress to my fantasy world and think that my spiritual growth will be quick and easy. It doesn’t take long to be forced to reality and the realization that it is never easy! What seems to be simple ends up being one set back after another and becomes a long process. I once decided that I was going to spend a year learning discipline in my life. That year has become a twenty year challenge. I am better than I have ever been, but I have not completely accomplished my goal. However, as long as I do not quit and I keep persevering, I will conquer. At times, that hurdle can actually be used to grow us in a deep and unique way if we will not run from it; but embrace it as God’s molding.
     Do you get frustrated when your spiritual goals do not happen quickly or easily? Do you embrace the hurdles and let them mold you for God’s unique purpose? May we all keep our eye on the end results and not on the difficulties! May we remember that we grow through the journey, not by quick and easy ways!

Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us?  When the time comes we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming. But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing,and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.

2 Corinthians 5:8-9

Are Things In Order?

    It was a good three day weekend. I got some desired rest, some exercise, some time with friends and family, and some order by finishing a few projects. Though it is always tempting to fill a holiday weekend with consistent activity; I am always thankful and happy when I get to face returning back to work with a feeling of rest and accomplishment. We got to the grocery store and got food in the fridge for the first time in weeks. I got my weeding completely done with the beds filled with mulch. I am going on a mission trip in less than two weeks and I am completely packed. I got my extra bed painted which I have wanted to do for years. I got some drawers cleaned out which were a mess. I actually ran further than I have in over a year. I spent time with Dwayne and got the checkbook balanced. I feel good about the sense of order in my life; it is a feeling I do not always get to experience!

     Many times we need to stop packing continual activity in our lives, slow down, and get things in order with God. Maybe we need to snuggle up with a Christian book or spend time in getting lost in the Bible. Maybe we need to be still and let God speak to us and give us direction in our life. Maybe we need to do the last things God told us to do!
     When was the last time you slowed down and got your spiritual life in order? What is on your spiritual to do list? When are you going to schedule God into your calendar?

Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.

Psalm 46:10

Don't Forget the Foundation

     I love the fourth of July! I love the fireworks! We usually do not have big plans. I don’t always like the heat and the crowds! Dang, I am getting old. This year I am seeing things in regards to the holiday, from a little different perspective. I see a country that is on a path of refusing to acknowledge God. I wonder how long God’s patience will last with America. Especially when his children are sleeping and not paying attention or taking a stand on the direction the country is going. However, this weekend the country from coast to coast will be coming together and celebrating the birthday of America. I cannot fathom the money that will be spent on fireworks this weekend. I know of one man that personally spent $12,000 for fireworks. (I cannot imagine setting fire to 12,000 dollars!). The thing that I am seeing is that we will celebrate our country at any cost, but we do no celebrate and worship the One who made and gave us our country at any cost. I once gave a gift to someone who continues to reap blessing from it but who does not have a friendship with me today! It is a slap in the face when they use the gift to bring rewards to them and portray to others that we have a friendship, when in reality we do not. As frustrating as that is to me, I cannot imagine how it feels to God. We reap so many blessings from the honor of living in a nation that was founded and labeled as a Christian nation. Yet we have a leader that claims we are no longer a Christian nation. How long will we receive blessings; I do not know! I do know that this Fourth of July, I have seen Romans 1:25, come to light in a new way:

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.

     Pray for our nation that we will worship our Creator and acknowledge Him as the foundation of our country. Also, pray for you; that if there is any creation you are putting above Him as the Creator, that He will reveal it to you.

Freedom in Christ

      For many, the holiday weekend begins today! Not for me, I have to work today but I am already looking forward to my three day weekend! The older I get the more I focus on the meaning of holidays. The fourth of July, is a time to thank God for the freedom that we are honored with. The majority of the world would love to have the freedom that we often take for granted. However, there is another freedom that everyone anywhere can have and that is the freedom of Christ. I remember an album cover I saw twenty five years ago of a man looking out from behind bars and the title of the album was across the top; “I’m FREE”! We usually do not consider being behind bars a picture of freedom. Four years ago, Dwayne and I started the journey of discovering what freedom in Christ means! We use that term often, but do we really know what it means? If we do not know its meaning, how can we live in the ‘freedom of Christ’? Imagine two different jobs at two different companies. Basically, the work is the same, the policies of the companies are the same, and the pay is the same. The difference is the atmosphere. In one company, you are watched constantly. Every mistake you make is noted and remembered by your supervisor. You are accountable for every minute of your time. You are not allowed to speak to anyone but to keep your attention on your work. You supervisor walks by you throughout the day but does not speak or acknowledge you. They never acknowledge anything positive that you do but will draw attention to any action you do that they do not like and spread it around to anybody. Now the other job, is the opposite. You are expected to do your job and you are not watched. You have the freedom to set your own schedule within reason for your forty hours. You are encouraged to know your coworkers and to look for ‘fun’ opportunities throughout your day. Your supervisor makes it a point to walk through and greet everyone and make sure every person is acknowledged every day. They look for ways to recognize the hard work and dedication of the employees. If there is a problem, it is taken care of in private and it's forgotten. You are encouraged on a consistent basis. You are empowered to do the job you were hired to do.
     The difference you would feel between those two jobs, would be like the difference between serving God through ‘freedom in Christ’ and the bondage of the law. Some people go to church week after week and are beat up with all the man made religious laws. Some go and experience God's grace. It doesn’t mean the scriptural commands and way of life is different. It just feels different. Jesus taught this when He spoke of His yoke. A yoke was the teaching that a teacher taught their students. Some teacher's yokes were hard and burdensome. Jesus said His yoke was light. He continued to say that if you are tired and weary from all those rule oriented, Pharisaical teachings, you can come to Him find rest!
     Are you tired from all the religion in your life? How burdensome does the Christian walk feel to you? Ask God for eyes to see the bondage that we put ourselves under and run to Jesus and take His yoke. Rest in Him! His yoke is easy! Then you will experience the freedom of Christ!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30

How Deep Are Your Roots?

     One thing that is growing great this year at my house is the flowers in my well. I have a real well in my yard. It has been cemented up with the exception of the hole that goes down to the water. I built a six inch wall of rocks around the perimeter of the top of the well. I then filled it in with dirt and I have tried to grow things in that dirt for three summers. Whatever I plant makes it for a short time and then dies. It never spreads out or grows, it just dies. There are two problems that are the contributing factors to the death of the plants of the well. One is that I don’t like to water (Dwayne: I'm glad I'm not a plant!). Two, it has to have water every day because the roots cannot grow deep and there isn’t much soil to hold the water. Finally this year, I planted moss. Moss can survive the lack of water better than other plants and as of now, I am very hopeful that I can keep my moss throughout the summer.

     It is important for all Christians to grow deep roots with the Lord. There are times in life that droughts hit. During those times it is important that our roots are deep and that they pull refreshment from God which keeps us from withering. Many Christians can bloom and look good for a while. However, they do not grow deep roots and as soon as the heat hits, they wither away and fall by the way side.
     Are you prepared for the heat droughts of life? How deep are your roots?

A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

                                                                  Matthew 13:4-8

Need Some Pruning?

     Those who know me well, like my mother, will not hesitate to tell you that I do not have a green thumb. I don’t agree totally. I have several plants I have kept alive for over ten years (Dwayne:  I know her and that's a miracle!). I will agree that if the plant cannot go long periods of time without water, then it will most likely die in my care. I do have a prize trophy though when it comes to having success with a plant. I bought a knock out rose bush three summers ago. I have read that they are indestructible and so it is the perfect plant for me. It is my trophy; standing five feet tall and five feet in width. In fact, it was hanging over half of the width of the sidewalk and it was in danger of being at the end of Dwayne’s cutting shears. Dwayne has no self control in stopping his trimming once he begins. So, I took care of my beautiful rose bush by trimming it myself. I hate pruning. When I work hard to get something to grow, it doesn’t make sense to me to cut it back! However, I know through studying and through my mother’s knowledge that it has to be done! While I was cutting back each branch, I realized that when I am pruning it, I am telling it how and in what direction, I want it to grow. I needed to trim it on both sides as well as the front because it was growing over other plants. On the right side it was protecting my peonies from the harsh sun. I only had to cut it away from the peony so it could flourish. On the left side, it was overshadowing my hydrangea bush. I have to say that if I only was allowed to have one bush, my trophy knock out bush would be gone and I would keep my hydrangeas. They are my favorite flower. So, though I love my knock out bush, it could not be allowed to overshadow my hydrangea. It had to be cut way back to its proper place in the garden.
     There are many great things to enjoy in life. There are many good causes to volunteer for. There are many people to help. There are many things we need to do to stay healthy and fit. There are many things we must do for our family. These things can fill our calendars to the point that we lose sight of what is the most important. I believe the best way Satan gets Christians unfocused and not serving is by getting them too busy. Busyness, even busyness with good things, can get the things of importance in our life way out of balance.
     Sometimes to get Jesus in His proper place at the center of our lives, we have to cut back on some things, even good things. My pastor; my husband has asked many times why is it that when someone gets too busy, they cut God out first? Good question! I see it happen all the time. They get too busy for church, for bible study, for fellowship, and for serving. They work all week and fill their Saturday with all the things they want to do, and then use Sunday to do all the things they didn’t do on Saturday! They do not protect their God time. They give God the leftovers of time, maybe! Sometimes, it becomes necessary to cut back on things we love in order to protect our time with God, which is supposed to be our priority! Sometimes God cuts things out of our lives to show us where He wants us to grow, and sometimes we just need to have some adjustments to continue to protect things that bring us pleasure, like our family.
     Spend time with God today and ask Him what He would like to see pruned from your life? Ask Him to show you if your priorities are messed up. Ask Him in what direction He wants you to grow. Are you protecting the things that are important like your family, or are you letting other things get entangled with your family time? Put the shears in God’s hands and have Him cut away! Do you trust Him?

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15:2

Got Cracks?

A few years ago Dwayne built us a sidewalk by laying flat stone and adding cement between the stones. I love the appearance of it; it matches the rock on our home. A few months after he finished the sidewalk, the cows got out of the pasture on the connecting property and took a stroll down the new sidewalk. Their weight broke and cracked the cement! Though I was mad at the cows (Dwayne:  I guarantee you I was!), I can live with a few cracks. Well, I can until the weeds and grass start coming up those cracks in the walk. They are impossible to pull up and to pull up the roots! The only way to really remove the weeds and grass is to kill it and seal up the cracks.
     We see the term ‘stronghold’ used many times in Scripture. It's used to describe the Lord as the  stronghold of our salvation and also that He tears down the strongholds the enemy builds in our life. A stronghold is a fortress. In reality, it is like a castle. A place one can go and be safe. One of my favorite verses states that the name of the Lord is like a tower, the righteous run into it and a safe. Often I envision that verse when I need comfort from the attacks of Satan. Outside the tower, Satan can come at me in full force, but inside the tower I am safe. However, never think that he gives up easily. He searches for 'cracks', weak areas in our life or a sin we have kept in our life and he comes through that crack like a weed through the crack in the cement.
     We need to make sure we do not give Satan an opening into our life through a 'crack', no matter how tiny we think it is. If a weed can find the smallest crack, so can Satan. Jesus can fill in any crack we have. He will help us let go of the sin that can entangle us and fill the crack with his grace. Satan tries to find the smallest way in to our life so he can build a stronghold. Then we have to go and ask Jesus to knock the stronghold down! It is so much easier to deal with the cracks!
     Do you have cracks Jesus needs to fill? Or do you have strongholds that He needs to destroy?

After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!

2 Corinthians 2:11

Like heat?

    It is still extremely hot here in Oklahoma. I have to confess that each time I complain about the heat, I feel guilty. My daughter’s boyfriend is serving the Lord as a missionary in Haiti. It is 110 degrees each day, with total destruction around him. If he takes a shower, he says the grey dust is back on you within minutes. He is building houses and moving cinder blocks all day long in that heat. He sleeps outside in a hammock every night because the 100 degree weather is cooler outside than inside his sleeping quarters. There is no air conditioning to escape too. So, when I say it is hot, please take it in the perspective of my non-acclimated, spoiled, opinion! I would think that heat would kill weeds but it tends to only kill the good stuff like the green grass and blooming flowers. It seems the weeds flourish in the heat. Dang it!

     Just this morning at church, a very sweet man was telling me that he loved the heat but it was making him very edgy. He was getting angry and short tempered, which is not like him. It seems to be common that people get cranky when the heat cranks up! We use many phrases that reflect a connection between heat and agitation, i.e. we say our tempers "flare"; we get "hot under the collar" when frustrated, and “do a slow bum" when angered. We even see crimes like family disturbances, rape, and assault increase in summer months.
     Heat seems to bring out the sin in people. Maybe it wears us down and we can’t fake it anymore. I wonder if that is why Satan will spend eternity in a ‘hottest of hot’ place. While Satan uses 'heat' to increase the sin in our life, Jesus uses 'heat' to decrease the dross, or sin in our life. When our sin comes to the 'surface', when we repent of our sin, He can skim it off. He does this process like a silversmith who brings the impurities in the silver to the top of his pot by increasing the fire underneath it. When the impurities arise, he skims them off and he knows the process is over when he can see his reflection in the silver.
     What about you? When the heat of life hits you, what do you do with the impurities that show them self? Do you act on them and let your sin be used by Satan, or do you let Jesus remove them from you so that you become a reflection of your Savior?

For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.

Psalm 66:10

It Takes A Good Soaking

    Today was the day to wrestle those last weeds. It was quite a wrestling match! I think the weeds were the winner. Pulling those weeds was like lifting weights. Sometimes it is nothing but overwhelming when the weeds have consumed the garden. I have discovered a secret though. The only way I would ever be able to pull up all the weeds; I saturate the ground with water. I mean like standing in water like a cranberry blog. This seems to loosen the roots and lets me get my hand deep into the dirt (mud) and pull up the roots. Now, of course it is a messy process and I am covered in mud, but it seems to be the only way to get the roots. Otherwise, I would only be pulling the top off and pulling the roots (which we already talked about) would only allow the weeds to come back within a short period

     I have seen Christians strive to remove the sin in their life. Their problem is that they are doing all the work; they are trying to clean up themselves for Jesus. It is a good thing to want to honor the Lord with our lives and our behaviors. However, we cannot do it alone. We have to surrender our life and our will to the control of the Holy Spirit daily, and let Him clean us up. He can help us get rid of the sin and He can pull up the roots! We must saturate ourselves with the Holy Spirit so that He can get down deep and help us rid sin out of our life from the roots. It will be messy, but we must remember it is worth it to have a beautiful garden with no weeds!

So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It’s as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.

2 Timothy 1:13-14

How Deep is Your Roots?

     Well, I hit the flower bed again last night to pull weeds in another section. I only have one more section and then I can put more mulch on it and hopefully stay caught up with the weeds. Yesterday, I talked about how much easier it to pull those weeds as soon as they come up because if you don’t they can grow in size and spread. However, there is another thing that happens if you let them grow and that is their roots get deeper. I don’t whine too much when I pull weeds that have little short roots but it is the ones which have deep roots and take a wrestling match to pull that I hate. The worst is bermuda grass which is what has consumed the last section in my flower bed. If you wanted the grass to grow in the yard you would have to baby it, but if you don’t want it in the flower bed, you can’t keep it from growing! The roots grow everywhere. My mother, a world class gardener, must say the same eleven words to me every time I start weeding, “If you don’t get the roots, they will come right back!” Regrettably, I have learned the hard way that she is totally correct!
     The principle applies to sin as well. You must get the roots out or they will come right back! The newer the sin, the smaller the root. If you only try to get rid of a sin instead of letting God cleanse your heart and show you why you did or do the sin, it will only be a superficial change. After enough time, it will come back. Some of us know instantly what sin has grown roots in us. Some of us feel like we are walking with the Lord and don't have too many weeds in our spiritual garden. Be careful: that is a dangerous place to be. We can start to tell ourselves that we have no sin, and when we do: scripture says we are a liars. I have a list of sins that are pages long. When I think too well of myself, I read this list and come to terms with the truth of what a sinner I am and what sins I need to pull out of my life. As long as we are on this earth, living in these bodies of flesh; we have sin. There will always be weeds to pull whether big, deep rooted ones; or little tiny ones just coming up through the surface. Don't misunderstand me, I am not referring to one sin being worse than another, or ranking them as big and little; in God's eyes sin is sin and He offers the same grace to them all. I am referring to the size of the sin in your life, how much it is consuming you, and how deep it has planted its roots!
     How deep are the roots of you sin(s)? How long has it been since you prayerfully evaluated the little weeds you have let into your life and the huge weeds that have planted deep roots? Is it time to do some weeding? Take time to ponder the Scripture passage today and let it speak to your heart.

Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt; soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down. You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I’ve been out of step with you for a long time; in the wrong since before I was born. What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me into foot-tapping songs, set the once-broken bones to dancing.

Psalms 51:1-8

Pull Your Weeds!

     Summer time is something we look forward too for nine months of the year but when it comes in full force, we start to change our minds. Here in Oklahoma the heat index has been over 100 degrees for days. It makes it really hard for me to want to do a summer chore that I hate, but when I ignore it, it just gets worse and worse: it is weeding! Not only is it hard for me to find the time, but it is hard to find time without it being during the time that I would be attacked by heatstroke before the weeds would die from an attack from me! In addition to that, I now have to worry about touching something that would create another allergic reaction. My dream garden would be one that matured to the point of filling in the complete garden, beautiful plants would choke out all the weeds, and an automatic watering system that does not depend on me in any form or fashion! There is only one of those that I have a chance of getting and that is my garden to mature and take over the whole garden though I do not know if the weeds will ever be choked out. When I do get myself pulling weeds, God continually speaks to me about how pulling weeds out of my garden is like pulling sin out of my life. So, as always when I learn something: you get it taught to you!
     The first lesson I am learning is the longer I go without giving the weeds any attention, the worse they get. They do not go away. They produce other weeds and each weed grows even bigger. What once were a few weeds grow into a ground covering carpet of weeds!
     Sin is like weeds. We all have those 'little' sins. Of course, ‘little’ means something different to different people. However, if we do not keep spiritually sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we end up ignoring those 'little' sins until they grow to the point they consume and control us.
     Take care of sin as soon as it appears in your life. Don’t let it grow out of control. One can lead to another and before you know it, it will seem like too many sins to get rid of. At that point, it will take hard, diligent work to rid them out of your life. However, it is always worth the work and heartache because just as a weed free garden is beautiful, there is nothing prettier than a beautiful, weed free life!

All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God’s order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin!

1 John 3:4-5

Remember You Commitment

    Almost 24 years ago Dwayne and I stood before our church body and committed our daughter to the Lord. It was a special and memorable day. When we repeated the words of commitment given to us, we said them to the Lord, and from that day forward we were responsible to live by them. God reminded me of that commitment when my daughter got on a plane and flew to the other side of the world; the bottom half. Her journey was going to be for 24 months and the end of that time is less than two months away. Most of it has been easier than expected thanks to technology and Skype, but there have been some really hard days. When I pick up the phone and hear her on the other side crying it is heart wrenching. Not just because she is hurting but because I cannot be with her and comfort her with hugs, food, or a little shopping. I have had to learn what it truly means to put your child into the hands of God. Maybe I should reword that. She is in God’s hands regardless of whether or not I put her there. I should say; I have learned to trust God totally to meet her needs since she is in His hands and not mine! Today, will be one of those days I will need to stand on that truth. My baby turns 24 years of age today! She is in a remote village, away from her friends, away from her family, and away from her boyfriend. There is no technology substitute this time because the internet is pitiful in this village and all she can do is chat with typing. I will be able to type Happy Birthday but there will be no visual or audio aide with those words. It will be the loneliest birthday she has ever experienced. However, she is in the Lord’s hands and I believe He will comfort her in a miraculous way. His presence is with her and how can His presence be anything but amazing!
     It has done my heart good to have an example of another woman to encourage me. That is why the scriptures are such an awesome gift to us from God. In 1Samuel we learn about a woman who yearned for a child, to the point of begging God, in one of our woman crying meltdowns. God heard her desperate plea. During her pleading she made a deal with God, like we all do. However, He knew her heart was pure when she made her deal, because He gave her a son: Samuel. To keep her word with God she took her son at three years of age to the temple and left him there, only to see him very seldom. When I want to complain about my 22 year old daughter leaving for 2 years, I think of Hannah and I stop complaining.
     Have you ever made a commitment to God?  Did you keep your word?  Aren’t you glad God is faithful to keep His!

Hannah said, “Excuse me, sir. Would you believe that I’m the very woman who was standing before you at this very spot, praying to God? I prayed for this child, and God gave me what I asked for. And now I have dedicated him to God. He’s dedicated for life.” Then and there, they worshipped God.

1 Samuel 1:26-28

What Picture Would You Chose?

     Brittne’s boyfriend recently asked me for a picture of Britttne when she was small. For once in my life I didn’t ask him why. He is a very fun, loving, and Godly young man. Well, in his playful spirit, he put her childhood picture on his Facebook as his profile picture! It was a big surprise to her and I am sill laughing about it; though I did get into a little trouble for giving it to him from my daughter. What surprises me more is that he has over 1600 friends and there has not been one comment asking him what is up with the little girl’s picture on his profile. I caught myself asking her if there is a way to put up different profile pictures for different people. As soon as the words were out of my mouth (actually typing fingers), I realized how people would love that option. You could put up a professional picture for all of your work contacts, a picture loving or serving people for your church friends, a party picture for your ‘fun’ friends, a Joan Cleaver picture for your family friends, and even a sexy picture for your spouse! If we were able to change our image, we could portray ourselves differently to different groups!
     I have one question for you? What picture would you put up for God? What would you portray to Him? In reality, it wouldn’t matter! Whether you put up one picture or a dozen pictures, He sees them all! There is nothing we can hide from God! There is no faking it.
     Why is it then that we try? We try and hide our sin just like Adam and Eve did. We try and wear our Christian mask on Sunday’s and portray ourselves to be the perfect child of God. I have told you before that this is how I lived with my parents. I remember once telling Brittne that I gave my parents the gift of letting my parents believe that I was perfect and asking her to please give me that gift! She refused, Thank God! And God refuses to accept that gift from me and from you. He wants us to be open and have contrite hearts. He wants us to stand bare before Him, hiding nothing. He wants complete honesty and complete intimacy!
     Are you hiding from God? Hiding your sin? Your heart? Your hurts? Your struggles? Your anger? Your disappointments? Your thoughts? Your desires? You really can stop. It doesn’t work or help you. You can step out from behind the bushes and experience the love of God that only can be experienced when you quit hiding!

I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight.

Jeremiah 139:2-3

Another Monday!

     Today is Monday! That statement conjures up many thoughts and those thoughts often come out as negative comments. If you are a Facebook user, you will see several comments posted today about Monday. We live for weekends and Monday makes us feel it is a long ways off! It seems we wish Monday’s away. I think this is sad! I know it means 5 days until we have the ability to sleep in, enjoy the outside, and stay up late. However, we need to stop and realize that if we wish all of our Mondays away, we are wishing away a seventh of our life. That calculates into 10 years of Mondays if we live to be seventy!
    Have you ever given a gift to someone and the recipient says a few nice things about the gift but they say one mega negative comment! How do you feel? This happened to me recently. After working many hours on a very sentimental gift the recipient got mad at me for giving a sentimental gift in front of others because they broke down in tears. After a few weeks, I did get a thank you for the gift but it didn’t take away the disappointment of the first response.
     Have you ever wondered how God feels about our Monday comments? First, He gives us life and we wish a part of it away. Then He gives us a purpose and plan everyday and we are so busy griping and complaining we often do not stop to discover what our assignment is for the day! Lastly, He has a large percentage of His children begging Him for extra days of life for themselves or loved ones which are critical or dying. Then He has another large percentage of children not appreciating the days they are given and wishing them away! If He wasn’t far above our comprehension, we would drive Him crazy!
     What words are going to come out of your mouth today about Mondays? You can see it as a day to endure to get you to the weekend, or you can see it for a new beginning! A time to work to appreciate the days off more! A day to live out what we learned at church on Sunday! It is all in our perspective. Let’s strive to appreciate every day of life God gives us and live each to the fullest and in a way that pleases God!

Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.

Ephesians 5: 16-17

May We All Be Great Examples!

     Happy Father’s Day! I have shared with you about my birth father and my adopted father. My lessons from my step dad and my father-in-law are simple. My step father was an example to have fun every day, no matter what your circumstance and I learned to never quit praying for someone’s salvation with my father-in-law, who accepted Christ 18 months before he died. Today however, I want to tell you about the father I have lived with the longest. He isn’t my father, but he is the father of my children. He is amazing as a father in many ways. He was hard when I couldn’t be and he was soft when I was too mad to be! He used every opportunity to teach them about God. He always maintained a perfect balance of discipline and grace and taught the kids how God does both. As partners in parenting, we have laughed together, cried together, hoped together, beamed together, questioned together, stood together, and have loved together. I would not want anyone else to share this part of life with than the man God gave me. However, I am not the child. So, I wanted to know what our children would say is the most important quality as a parent they believe their dad has. Bryce without hesitation said it was the fact that he leads by example! He could see how to live by watching his father. Brittne, being my daughter, elaborated on her answer a little more. Here it is: “Okay I would say the best quality about Dad is his willingness to always serve and show love for others no matter the circumstances. Example of his demonstration of love - Growing up, I always remember him making hospital runs non-stop. He rarely even knew the person in the hospital. It was usually a family member of someone he knew. But he never hesitated to stop what he was doing and go and show love and support to the person who needed it. And it doesn’t stop at hospital visits, the list goes on and on....sporting events, counseling sessions, funerals, etc. However he could show love and support to someone, he found a way. It didn’t matter that he was tired or he was busy or the distance he had to travel. Example of service – Dad has never ceased to serve the Lord in the years I have known him. I have seen him stay up late working on sermons, work late hours constructing church buildings, deliver food boxes to the poor etc. He is one of the hardest workers I know. And to know it is all for the Lord is a very admirable quality”. His newest child; his daughter-in-law thinks it is his dedication that is one of his greatest qualities. She says he is always there to encourage her, to remind her of what’s really important, and to be a great source of knowledge and wisdom.
    Four people all seeing the same thing; a great father and a great Godly example. Yesterday, I heard a great illustration of how parenthood begins. The day your child is born their mind is a blank slate, just waiting to have their parents write on it what they want them to know, and to help them find God’s plan for their life. Dwayne you have written wonderfully in the minds of your family! Happy Father’s Day from your family who loves and respects you very much!
     Take today to do some pondering. Ponder what the father roles in your life has taught you; both good and bad. Then evaluate yourself as a parent. Are you doing the thing you want to do? If you’re not a parent yet, you are in training to be one; prepare well. If you are not going to be a parent; there are so many people who need a strong parent role in their life; look and pray for someone to love and encourage! Lastly, celebrate the perfect father today; your Heavenly Father! Praise Him for all He is and for all He does! Happy Father’s Day ABBA (Papa)!!

You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, "Papa! Father!"

Galatians 4:6

You Can't Earn Love

     After my birth father and my mother divorced, she remarried a man who adopted me and raised me. He was a good father and I loved him very much. When I was a senior in high school my parents divorced and both remarried. My dad never stopped being a dad. He had two children with his new wife which are the same age as my children. I do not want to take away from the great father he was but somewhere in my relationship with him, I started a quest for his approval and I never felt like I was able to earn it. Maybe I learned it when my dad made me run around the house when I was in fifth grade as he counted the laps because he didn't want a fat daughter. Or maybe it was the time I had to take golf lessons and become good enough before I could go on the golf course with him. I don’t think he meant these things to come across as they did, but they did. Yet because of these moments, I developed a mentality to strive for perfection in order for others to love me. I have done this with my husband and others but have had to learn that he still loves me when I am not perfect. I still catch myself panicking if I think he is disappointed with me. I have also struggled to not do the same thing with God. I strive for perfection which I can never reach and I am stupid for trying. When I sin, I feel this huge wave of shame for disappointing God. I want to hide my sin so that God does not have to be disappointed in me. It is all such an out of control cycle.
     Once again, I have to come to learn discipline in not transferring my feelings from my earthly father to my Heavenly father. God knows me inside and out. He knows every thought in my head and every sin I commit. I can’t run from Him; I can’t hide anything. The great thing is that since God knew all my sins before I committed them, He is not disappointed in me or surprised. I need to stop relying on my works to earn love from God. I need to have a heart that stays devoted to Him; that is what pleases Him.
     Have you ever felt you needed to earn love? Have you worked to be perfect? Have you tried to hide your sin from God? It is time to stop! Walking with God is simple; love Him with your whole heart, mind, and soul. Do that and you can give up the pressure of trying to achieve something you can never do and then you will discover peace and freedom as you seek Him alone!

             Jesus replied: "Love the Lord you God with all your hear and with all your soul and with all your mind."  This is he first and greatest commandment.

Matthew: 37-38

A Father Who Won't Leave

     Father’s Day is three days away! For many, that brings joy; for some it brings sorrow.  Some fathers built strong, solid foundations in their children; and some built a cracked, damaged foundation.  For me, Father's Day is always an opportunity to ponder my fathers and the impact they each played in my life. Yes, I did say fathers. Just as I have had many mother figures in my life, I have had several fathers; not as many as the mothers though. I had one grandfather I only met once, one grandfather I liked but never was invested, and one grandfather I adored. When it came to father’s, I had a birth father, an adopted father, a step father, and a father in law. I learned something of life from all of them but I am only going to talk about a few. The first father role I had was my birth father. It is the relationship with the most confusing, mixed up, and hurtful feelings. My birth father was 17 when he got married and had a baby. As you can figure, the marriage did not last. He went on to college and could not afford child support and when I was 3 years old he gave up his parental rights. Though I remained very close to his parents, I did not see him again until I was a Freshman in high school. Since then, I think I have seen him seven times. We have written back and forth probably 10 times. I will say that today, our relationship is better than ever; not that it is good, but it is better. I met with him at a restaurant back in September and I have spoken to him four times since. The biggest issue that keeps our relationship from being what it should be is that his wife isn’t very receptive to me being a part of their lives and I have an adult brother and an adult sister that does not know about me! It is very confusing! My feelings are also very confusing. I have worked hard at not having bitterness and anger in my heart. I wanted to keep a pure heart and keep the responsibility and accountability of the relationship on him. I also have hurt the person who is suppose to love me and the person that says he does love me; yet only shows a minuscule amount of behavior which demonstrates any kind of love for me. When I was younger and would visit my grandmother, who lived in the same town as he did, I would wish that he would find out I was in town and come to see me.  He never did.  In fact, I found out later that he always knew I was in town and purposefully stayed away.  I think this hurt more than anything else he has done, nor have I ever experienced a stronger feeling of rejection. I wish I could just say he isn’t a responsible man, but he is a superintendent of one of the largest school districts in Arkansas. He is responsible and he is a good father to his other two children. Knowing I am the rejected one has given me the struggle of dealing with insecurity and inferiority. I am sure that these feelings show themselves in my life more than I want but God is faithful to help me stay open to forgive my father and open to God to heal me.
     Not only has God healed me, and continues to heal me, He has shown me that He is not anything like my birth father. He has never forgotten me, or abandoned me, or said He loves me but yet doesn't back it up with action. He has never loved his other children more than me, and He isn’t faithful to everyone and everything else except me. It is so easy to transfer your hurt feelings and disappointments from your earthly father to your Heavenly Father but God has taught me not to do that. I rob myself of a healthy and intimate relationship with God when I do. He has also taught me not to get caught up with what I don’t have from my earthly father, but to get caught up in praising Him for what I do have in Him.
     What kind of relationship do you have with your earthly father? How has it affected your relationship with your Heavenly Father? What are you focusing on? What you don’t have in your earthly father, you do have in your Heavenly Father!  If you really understand who your Heavenly Father is and the blessings He gives His children, how can you feel you need more? I have learned that He is all I need! Do you believe He is all you need?

Be content with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what.
Hebrews 13:5b-6a

It's summer!

     I do not know if it is official, but summer is here! With summer comes shorts and skirts and . . . white legs! Why it is that fat always looks better with a tan? Summer seems to be a season that makes us want to change. I have been feeling the need for change. I just want to break the boredom and the ruts we can often find our self in. I am taking my exercise program outside again after the long winter affair with the treadmill. I am looking forward to more home grown, local fruits and vegetables to add to my diet. I have been tanning to give my fat a facade. To top it off, I changed over half my black hairs to blonde! These changes are uplifting to my spirit. They help the ho-hums fade away! I say, “In with summer, in with change!”
     Often we need a little summer in our spiritual life. We can easily get the ho-hums in our walk with the Lord. We can easily determine that we are getting a little fat on the world and we are in need of some change. Maybe we need to spend more time alone with God, or spend more time in His Word, or attend a new Bible study, or attend a retreat.
     What does summer mean to your spirit? Have you settled into the ho-hums? Are you ready for some change? What do you need to do? If you can’t figure out what you need to change, think back to the last time your spirit felt on fire for God? What were you doing then that you aren’t doing now? I think it is the season for a ho-hum make over!

Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so He can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you. . .

Acts 3:19