5.30.2013

Shared From Desiring God

A soft answer turns away wrath, 
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
proverbs 15:1

I just read an article that was very timely. Going Soft Against Wrath by Ray Ortlund

This is just spot on.. and something the Lord has been working in me the last number of months. It sure is one difficult principle to live out! My flesh just wants to rise up and be angry right back, or insult, or be sarcastic when i am hurt. That always make things better worse. God has a much better way. reply with a soft answer, and trust the results to Him.





5.28.2013

4 Little Letters

What is it that we all really, really want? That we all really, really long for?

my guess?

love.

That one, simple complicated little word.

Love.

If we are honest, we have all been disappointed with love at one time or another. Those 4 little letters put together can cause so much pain.

But ~

Maybe we don't truly know what love is.

Maybe we were made to learn to love from a different Source.

I mean,
we look to Hollywood for what romatic love looks like. we look to wholesome novels (think Little Women) for what familial love looks like. We look to other books, or television shows to see what friendship-love looks like.

What if....
just what would happen if....

We looked to the Author of love for what love really means?

1 John 4:7-11 says Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
I don't know about you, but i need to learn love from God. to rest in His love for me. His perfect, self-sacrificing, tender love for me. I need to give that love to others. The love with which i have been loved. Give  it away freely.

Is there someone in your life who you just wish would love you? Is there an ache there? Let our amazing God of perfect love come to that place. Let Him love you. He will love you for you... not for what you have or have not done. Not for what you have or haven't said. No. He loves YOU for YOU. He looks at you and He loves you.

No,
not the Hollywood love. not the love of novels. not the love we see on the television. not a love based on feelings.

But He loves you. deeply. He loves me. completely.
He loves us according to The Book.

The Bible.

Take a look inside, and see the greatest love of all on display.












5.22.2013

Finishing Well

One of my favorite quotes, by the writer of one of my favorite hymns (Amazing Grace).




5.20.2013

Along the Way...with Worms


Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:1-9

These verses in Deuteronomy have been on my mind for a very l-o-n-g time. I don't know about you, but i really struggle with talking about God in the every day moments. That right there should be a wake up call for me! Lately i have been working at being much more intentional at bringing our sweet Lord into every day moments.

Yesterday, my daughter and i were out in the garden weeding. She found worms...and thought they were cool (for the first time ~ EVER). She was talking to them, petting them, and making sure that they were put back in the dirt and covered before their worm-slime dried out in the sun. Watching her fascination with these creatures was amazing.

Then,

It dawned on me! THIS IS A MOMENT when i can bring the wonderful Creator of all things into our conversation. I told her how incredibly cool it is that God created worms, specifically to make our gardens healthy. We talked about how worms naturally add compost to the soil; how they tunnel and break up the soil (which, by the way, is MUCH needed when it is CLAY!). This was a moment. A moment when i could talk to my daughter about the wonders of even the seemingly insignificant parts of nature, that God lovingly created. We talked about how He made everything. How everything matters and everything is important in creation.

Finally,

My husband came outside to chat with us. She excitedly told him about the worms, and that she had **gasp** touched them! Do you know what he just naturally did? Yep....told her about how cool it is that God created worms and how beneficial they are to the garden.

We are learning.
Learning to teach.
Every moment that God gives us with them.







5.17.2013

Turning My Eyes

Thought i would walk through this simple chorus  :-)

Turn Your Eyes ~ Nichole Nordeman ( <--- click to listen)

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Take your eyes off of anything else. Completely turn your eyes. Not just a bit. Not for just a moment. But completely, steadfastly, resolutely, fix your eyes on Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face
definitions from dictionary.com (except for His) ~ 
Look: To turn one's eyes toward something or in some direction in order to see.
Full: Exactly or directly.
In: Used to indicate inclusion within space, a place, or limits.
His: the great I AM
Wonderful: excellent; great; marvelous.
Face: The front part of the head.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace!
As we turn our eyes toward Jesus Christ, all of the cares and worries here are put in perspective. As we turn our eyes to His excellent Word, we are reminded that this world is truly not our home. As we read and meditate on the Bible, we realize that the hooks of materialism and self-love loosen their grip. We see that it is truly ALL.ABOUT.HIM. all we do. all we say. all we are, to His glory.
When the things of earth, those things that we have set our affections on higher than Christ, grow dim, we can walk in freedom. The freedom given to us in Christ.

We start to see things from His perspective.
We love, because we finally see how He has loved us.
We give, because we finally see how much we have been given.
We forgive, because we know the depths of our own depravity, and how very much we have been forgiven by God in Christ.

We can simply be, because we know that our very breath is given to us by Him.

5.16.2013

Thankfully, NOT YET!

A friend sent this to me this morning. It was too funny to NOT pass on, though i am sure some of you have probably seen it on....... FACEBOOK ;)


Thankfully, it is not this bad!

5.15.2013

facebook?

Today I am facebook-less for the first time in....about 8 years?? Well, my husband and i got on way back when you had to be invited by a college person. So, yeah. been a long time.

On Sunday, Mother's Day, our Pastor, Dr. Jeff Rich, preached on The High Calling of Motherhood (click to listen). But it wasn't just your run-of-the-mill Mother's Day sermon. Nope. It was encouraging, yes. But also, it was challenging and convicting. Not just for the mom's either. I think a few of the men walked away challenged. And the children heard what the Bible calls a mother to be. I walked away remembering why I do what I do, and Who i do it for...God. And i realized that i am not giving my best. I get irritated if i am on facebook and they interrupt me (how dare they!). I get irritated when they ask me a question and i just don't feel like answering. i get irritated when i am folding laundry and they want my attention. i get irritated when they want my attention..........on and on and on and on.........

After church, we had company over. It was a beautiful day. Once things got quiet again in the evening, i had some time to myself (in a corner of the living room). So many things were running through my mind. I realized that i had things that were distracting me from what was really important (being fully present with my husband/children). One of those things was facebook. I have tried in the past to limit my time, not go on for days, etc., yet i always was wondering "what is going on in facebookland?"  With that thought in the back of my mind, was i really free of facebook? NOPE. It STILL distracted me. I long for freedom from this. This is one of the reasons i decided to unplug from social media.

Another reason i have decided to unplug is due to the fact that i am simply walking through some pretty tough stuff since my Dad passed away. I need time and space to process. There have been times that i would have loved to have spent reading the Bible, or other books i have been given (assigned!) to read, but i got distracted by "just checking fb for a minute  few minutes (like 30!)..."

Yet another reason i am unplugging is simply that i want to be so hidden in Christ that I don't get sucked into the comparison game that inevitably happens on facebook (which, by the way, aren't really worth doing!). You know what i am talking about:  the vacations you can't afford, the meals you don't know how to cook, the perfect children, the perfect date night, the perfect friendships, feeling left out of certain things... yadda yadda yadda.  I know that not everyone struggles with these things. I know that some people are as real as real can be there. They are a breath of fresh air!

Not everyone struggles with facebook the way i have over the years. I understand that. I also know that facebook can be a fantastic tool. I am thankful for a sister in Christ that i met through facebook, who lives on the west coast. I would have never met her were it not for fb. And now that i am not on it, we will actually write......letters!!! gasp!  So, yes, i DO know that good things go on and can happen on facebook :).

My goal is to focus on the things that are really important. My relationship with the Lord. My husband. My precious children, which are a gift from God. My friendships. I very well may get on facebook again, but it won't be until i know that my identity, confidence, and hope is in Christ alone, and that NOTHING can distract me from those things.

taking of some masks and gettin' real here. hope some of this made sense!!

5.14.2013

Perfect Peace


Perfect Peace

Like a river glorious
Is God's perfect peace, 
Over all victorious
In its bright increase. 
Perfect--yet it groweth
Deeper all the way.

chorus: Stayed upon Jehovah, 
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as He promised,
Perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow
Of His blessed hand, 
Never foe can follow,
Never traitor stand. 
Not a surge of worry,
Not a shade of care,
Not a  blast of hurry
Touch the spirit there.

chorus: Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as He promised,
Perfect peace and rest.

Every joy or trial
Falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial
By the Sun of Love.
We may trust Him solely
All for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly,
Find Him wholly true.


chorus: Stayed upon Jehovah,
Hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as He promised,
Perfect peace and rest.

5.10.2013

Stablish Thy Kingdom in my Heart


Thy Reign.
"Righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Romans 14:17

Thy reign is righteousness,
Not mine, but Thine !
A covering no less
Than the broad, bright waves of Thy great sea,
That roll triumphantly
From line to pole, and pole to line;
A reign where every rebel thought
In sweet captivity
To Thine obedience is brought.

Thy reign is perfect peace; 
Not Mine, but Thine !
A stream that cannot cease,
For its fountain is Thy heart.  O depth unknown ! 
Thou givest of Thine own,
Pouring from Thine and filling mine.
The 'noise of war' hath passed away;
God's peace is on the throne,
Ruling with undisputed sway. 

Thy reign is joy divine;
Not mine, but Thine;
Or else not any joy to me !
For a joy that flowed not from Thine own,
Since Thou hast reigned alone, 
Were vacancy or misery. 
O sunshine of Thy realm, how bright
This radiance from Thy throne,
Unspeakable in calmest light ! 

Thy reign shall still increase !
I claim Thy word,
Let righteousness and peace 
And joy in the Holy Ghost be found,
And more and more abound
In me, through Thee, O Christ my Lord;
Take unto Thee Thy power, who art
My Sovereign, many-crowned ! 
Stablish Thy kingdom in my heart.

~by Frances Ridley Havergal in Evening Thoughts

5.08.2013

Worshiping with Your Wounds

This song has ministered to me significantly lately. Praise the Lord that when we walk in sorrowful places, we are not disqualified or cast away... He draws us ever nearer.
This from the song...
 "In this most holy place
He's made a sacred space
For those who will enter in
and trust to cry out to him
And you'll find no curtain there
No reason left for fear
There's perfect freedom here
To weep every unwept tear." 


If you are wounded
And if you're alone
If you are angry
If you're heart is cold as stone

If you have fallen
And if you are weak
Then come find the worth of God
That only the suffering seek.

Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain
Come make a sacrifice
of all your shame
There in your wilderness
He's waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds
for He's wounded too.

He has not stuttered
and He has not lied.
When he says come unto me
you're not disqualified

When you're heavy laden
You may want to depart
But those who know sorrow
They're closest to his heart

Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain
Come make a sacrifice
of all your shame
There in your wilderness
He's waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds
for He's wounded too.

In this most holy place
He's made a sacred space
For those who will enter in
and trust to cry out to him
And you'll find no curtain there
No reason left for fear
There's perfect freedom here
To weep every unwept tear.

Come lift up your sorrows
And offer your pain
Come make a sacrifice
of all your shame
There in your wilderness
He's waiting for you
To worship Him with your wounds
for He's wounded too.

Michael Card, from "The Hidden Face of God" album

5.03.2013

Be Not Weary


Be Not Weary.

Yes! He knows the way is dreary,
Knows the weakness of our frame. 
Knows that hand and heart are weary
He, 'in all points,' felt the same.
He is near to help and bless;
Be not weary, onward press.

Look to Him who once was willing
All His glory to resign,
That, for thee the law fulfilling,
All His merit might be thine.
Strive to follow day by day
Where His footsteps mark the way.

Look to Him, the Lord of Glory,
Tasting death to win thy life;
Gazing on 'that wondrous story,'
Canst thou falter in the strife?
Is it not new life to know
That the Lord hath loved thee so!

Look to Him who ever liveth, 
Interceding for His own:
Seek, yea, claim the grace He giveth
Freely from His priestly throne.
Will He not thy strength renew
With His Spirit's quickening dew?

Look to Him, and faith shall brighten,
Hope shall soar, and love shall burn;
Peace once more thy heart shall lighten;
Rise ! He calleth thee, return !
Be not weary on they way, 
Jesus is thy strength and stay. 

~Frances Ridley Havergal

5.02.2013

Taking My World Apart

In 1995 the band Jars of Clay released their first album. On that album is a song called "Worlds Apart". This song became my prayer. I couldn't listen to it without tears. I identified so closely with it. I had been a Christian for a few years at that point, and if i knew anything, i knew that God needed to strip me of my selfishness and pride. Strip me of who i thought i was. Strip me of what i allowed myself to be identified by (which was everything but HIM).

 Over the last 18 years, i have continued to pray this prayer, with this song. It is still raw. It still moves me to tears at times.

 The past month has seen my world turned up-side-down. Last week, this song came to my mind. All of a sudden, i realized that my prayers were being answered. God is taking my world apart. He is completely undoing me. "Providential destruction" as i heard it called. I am being completely undone by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is a good thing. Jesus Christ really did have to die for me. He purchased my pardon at Calvary... ALL of my debts. there is nothing i can do to add to the work of the Cross.


 Well, here is a live version of the song. it is about 5 minutes long.