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I know, I know. I’ve already sent you over to Prodigal Jon so many times before. But these last two have been really good. The one today is my new fav serious post he’s done. Excellent! Go read it. I’ll wait. I know I’ll be thinking on that one & weaving it into my talks with the kids for a long, long time to come.
The one from yesterday made me laugh out loud, again. I especially love the shofar horn bit. You’ll just have to read it. He is too funny! Hope he made your day as much as he did mine.
Sorry, I’m gonna go on a short linkey binge here…
Two things that got me thinking/excited today. One is Del Tackett’s newest project, a Truth Project version specifically aimed at the college-bound teen! The other is off of Piper’s blog. Jon poses the question, “Why Jethro?” Good question. Great answer.
Speaking of Jethro & Moses, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I feel pretty useless slash lazy slash spinning my wheels for some reason. Don’t worry, it’s a phase & I’m not particularly “down”, just wondering if I’m doing all that I should be doing, where do I need to make changes, how can I be more productive, etc. I’m probably not making much sense, but it’s hard to put into words. The biggest example I can give is in the area of housework. Look around & it looks like I do nothing all day. This is my job! I do the same things over & over. I have more time this year. It still looks like this. Yikes. The Lord brought this thought to mind & I’ve decided to blog it for myself & the children (nugget of wisdom you might say)…
Every life has seasons. Even the great men and women of God, our huge heroes, those who followed the Lord closely all their lives, had faster & slower times. Moses spent decades in the wilderness “doing nothing” before God gave him his big task. Joseph spent years both in prison and doing servant work before he was given his big life task. Go down the list. David spent years in the fields watching sheep & still more time in caves being chased by King Saul. Peter spent years out on a boat sitting around catching fish before Jesus called him. Jesus Himself spent 30 years learning carpentry before his big three years. So, if you find yourself (or feel like you’re in) a year or two where you “aren’t really doing anything”, take heart. Enjoy the slow down. Take extra time to listen for that still small voice. Feed your soul & don’t feel selfish. Keep an eye out for daily “inconveniences” that God brings along your day – that unexpected phone call from a friend, the person God brings to mind that needs a note from you, that extra hour spent snuggling with a sick child, take more time on your prayer list each day. Those are the very things He wants to use in your life & through you today. Relax & just spend time falling in love with your Lord & all He’s given you.
Marriage is like a sailboat race. Take just the front page of the introduction for beginners page… 1) Superior speed is not enough to win the game. “(All of the) crew members on board each boat are at the top of their game and must each give their absolute best in the effort to win.” 2) America’s Cup match racing is a team effort. 3) Block the opponent’s chances. You have to stay alert, be analytical & strategic, etc.
To stay on course & reach your final destination safely, you have to make mid-course corrections. If you do not, even if you start out going the right way, the wind & storms that come will send you off in the wrong direction. Possibly into some rocks & a total disaster. Some reach the goal well, others crash along the way. Those who are successful are those who work together, make those necessary changes as needed, and keep the boat headed toward the goal line.
Sometimes, in stormy weather, the crew may even have to talk really loudly in order to accomplish the task at hand. If heard by an outsider, this could be mistaken for disrespect. But sometimes it takes that to hear each other. (Don’t you love that analogy?)
Here’s a link about the four main jobs on board: tactician (responsible for tactics relative to the other boat on the race course), helmsman (steers the boat), strategist (looks at the bigger picture on the race course), & navigator (keeps track of position and distances left to sail). Which jobs do you have? Which ones are your spouse’s? Is anyone doing these things? If not, what’s keeping you from getting off course &/or crashing?
The thrill of finishing strong is second to none, and the journey there is an adventure to be shared with future generations. So take lots of pictures.
For those of us watching what we eat, I found this link from SparkPeople. Because for me a picture is worth a thousand words, this post is most effective at getting across what our daily choices do by comparing two 300 calorie portion meals side by side. So much difference!! It goes to show how choosing fruit, whole grains, the right vegetables, light breads, etc. make all the difference in the world. I found it very informative & encouraging.
(Click the picture for a good kid-friendly health site to check out with a kid near you.)
Speaking of choices, here’s one more link about restaurant choices I found helpful. I get in the most trouble & later regret what I ate when I wait & decide as I look at the menu. If I know in advance & make smart choices before I get there, only then can I have the smarts to eat what’s right. That being said, anytime I can get my hands on something that spells out the nutritional values for my favorite restaurants, I study it & try to pick in advance. This link has easy to read info on Panera Bread, McD, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s… some of my favorite haunts. It looks like SparkPeople will be adding new restaurants to their list every now & again. Think Ruby Tuesday or Cheesecake Factory will make the list? I know you can healthfully eat tea & lettuce there, but I doubt much else. (And no, I’m pretty sure carrot cheesecake doesn’t count as a “filling food”, but thanks for asking.)
I feel a song coming on…
Anthillvania’s “The Choice Is Up to You“. In your best snail voice now, “Choices, choices. We ALL have to make em, & nobody else can do it for us. (cue song)” Classic!
Today, I am mulling over a lot of things. I’ll just spill my thoughts here. Warning: this may not be real organized and it most certainly will ruffle some feathers.
This is about our Church family & how it gets along. I’ve talked about doing a post on denominations for awhile, but have put it off due to lack of organization & time to get it organized. Today, I’m just putting it out there. Disorganized & all.
Denominations:
Keith & I loved our church in Korea. The interdenominational group was so interesting! We had all colors, nationalities, backgrounds, etc. under the sun, but we had the Lord & English in common so that made us FAMILY!! Pretty much instantly. It got me wishing there weren’t the denominational divisions we have here going on all around us. We are one family, One Body, One baptism, aren’t we?
Blood Relation:
After this last week with Mom at the hospital, I saw & appreciated my family at work. There are many members & we all play a role. God put us together to get the job at hand done. We don’t all do things the same way. Some may think I hovered too much while others felt I didn’t tenderly care enough. I’m just now starting to get old enough to think, them’s the breaks. But I am also appreciating more how everyone plays a different role; each one is needed. Our family needs some to hover, some to do the detail work, some to remind, some to just sit & care. It works the same way in the Family of God. We are just as “Blood related” there. We need each other. This spiritual family we’re born again into works like the other. It’s not coincidence. God designed both of them to reflect Himself. Duh!
Family of God:
Just like in my kin, there are those in the Family of God I love, respect, glean wisdom from, etc. that I don’t see I to eye with on everything. In fact, there are some I don’t have much in common with except that we’re blood relation. But just as with my biological family, I have a loyalty I feel with them. You know, the “don’t say anything bad about my brother” thing? I can say it, & we in the family can talk about it to a certain extent, but there’s a line. There needs to be respect & honor in there or I turn it off.
Rockin’ the Boat:
You can get away with not rocking the boat pretty well if you want until, tell me if you’ve experienced differently, you have children. Then it starts. This caught me off guard, honestly. I wasn’t expecting every little thing to be so evaluated. Bottle or breastfeed, exclusively or partially, work, part time, or stay at home, when to start feeding them, what to feed them, too many clothes on them or not enough, homeschool, charter, or public schooling, community sports or not, etc. etc. etc. Decisions, decisions, opinions, opinions. It comes down to what God shows Keith in leading our family, & me following his lead. Thankfully, Keith & I have great parents who are very supportive, yet throw in their wisdom when needed. I pray we have that balance with our children as the years go by.
Lines & Where to Draw Em:
The lines are drawn on spiritual issues when it starts into the “unscriptural” category. I’ve heard some great men of God being thrown under the bus over one issue or another being accused of being unscriptural. If that’s what’s going on, they should be. And we MUST be diligent to study, dig to find what God really says about these things, and not form our own opinions or just listen & take someone else’s word for things. This takes a whole lot of work, thought, & prayer. But if they’re sturdy, we need to back them up! Period.
With Others:
Another part of that though, is finding the line to decide these things for others & start preaching against someone because of something you’ve found. If you care, you will share when you find things that are off. It’s hard to do that without throwing the baby out with the bathwater though. And, I’m sorry, there are just too many wonderful things these guys have taught me to throw them all out. Plus, you’d be ditching literally every last one of them. And to top it all off, you’d throw me out & I’d do the same to you. We’d find at least one thing we disagree on between us! As Grandma Jean used to say,
“Everyone’s a little off except you & me. And sometimes I wonder about you!”
“Everyone’s a little off except you & me. And sometimes I wonder about you!”
That being said, I list here some of the things I appreciate about these men/ministries in the Bigger Family. I’ve heard at least one warning about every last one of them, even the Donut Man! I do not list the complaints here to avoid promoting fodder. Although I don’t agree 100% with any of them, I love each one & I’m sure if we had the time to sit & chat, they’d find things to disagree with me about & perhaps would, as iron sharpens iron, straighten me out on a few things I’m “sure” I’m right on. If you haven’t heard any their contravercies yet, you either will in time, or perhaps you’re in a crowd of folk that have a “whatever you believe is nice for you” attitude which is somewhere between unloving due to apathy & so far watered down they don’t amount to anything (no salt & light left). Go find some friends who will challenge you to dig a little deeper spiritually. Start chatting it up with your friends about spiritual things. The old saying about not talking politics or religion is for the birds. That’s where all the good conversations take place! That being said, here’s my list of brothers/sisters & things I appreciate about them…
Michael & Debbie Pearl - I love her book Created to Be His Help Meet. Their writings on parenthood have also given me the courage to do what I need to do at times when everywhere else, we hear tenderfooted parenting. They say some things out there that no one else has the courage to say. I like that.
Voddie Bauchum is another one of those who stir the church thinking pot a bit & it’s what I like about him.
Bill Gothard - Next to my parents, this man has had the most influence in my character, etc. I am so grateful my parents took the effort to get me to his conferences through the years! Those seven principles have had a huge impact in my life & in who I am today.
Doug Philips - His promotion of getting back to family & family based worship is wonderful. I appreciate his celebration of the genders, too. It’s great to be a woman & I want my daughter to embrace that early on. I want my boys to be all boy & love it! That’s been lost in the last generation & Doug’s reclaiming it. Thank you!
Ken Ham - Can I just say I LOVE teaching Genesis? I’ve loved it since before I heard Ken’s phrase “back to Genesis”.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss - Honestly, I haven’t heard one negative thing about her. I keep waiting. She’d be the first to say she’s not perfect, but usually someone who says the things she says can’t stay under the radar too long without someone getting their toes stepped on & dissing her. But when I do hear it, I will still respect her right up there at the top. She is showing us how to be a woman (single or married), Godly, under authority, serving the Family in so many ways. I just love her, can you tell?
Billy Graham - He has faithfully been sharing the Gospel message for decades. He has lived a God-honoring & long life, never once disgracing the Gospel with scandal. He has been used to reach Presidents when no one else could. I so admire & respect him for that!
James Dobson - Adventures in Odyssey, That the World May Know, Focus radio, The Truth Project are just a few of the many ways he has blessed my family. Thank you, Dr. Dobson, for doing the ministry God put before you.
Jerry Falwell - Keith & I wouldn’t have met, I wouldn’t have spent four years in Korea to name just two ways this man has probably more personally changed my life than anyone besides my own dear parents. Two of my three sisters-in-law are mine due to his ministry. My husband was discipled through his ministry. My life would look completely different if he hadn’t “taken that mountain”. I will be forever grateful!
Rick Warren - He’s kind of the Billy Graham of our generation. See above – same as for Billy G. Actually, Keith & I have discussed how similar Rick Warren & Jerry Falwell are. People wouldn’t normally say that, thinking Jerry was always wearing a suit & Rick always wears a Hawaiian shirt, but they both are willing to try great things for God, are reaching out to the lost with a smile, take a lot of hits from Christians & non alike, & dream big!
The Donut Man - My family has been so blessed by his ability to put God’s Word to music in a fun way. Music makes it stick! God definitely gave him a gift & I’m thankful he is using it.
Anyone have others to add to the list?
Let me remind you, this whole three part post is all about how we are in the same family, yet undoubtedly see things differently. God is very creative, isn’t He? Heaven will be so great! We’ll get to fellowship without the shackles of sin blinding us to things like we have here. I used to honestly despise denominations (splits the Body), but I’ve come to see the need for them over the years. We’ll spend forever together in Heaven, but for now, we make do with what we’ve got. Denominations keep us from rehashing all the same old issues. At least with them, we can camp out with like thinkers to some extent. (Is that a plus? Maybe that’s why the waters have been so muddied between essentials, non-essentials, tradition, what’s truly Scriptural, etc.) Keith & I are more Evangelical Free than anything which holds tightly to a few major issues & more loosely to the “extras”. Although our membership is currently with an Alliance church. They are surprisingly similar. It kills me though, when those who’ve grown up in one denomination have no clue what’s out there in other denominations. Like some we’ve talked with only know about the Alliance colleges, camps, etc. & don’t trust or care too much for anything other. Sad. And that seems to happen with every denomination! GARBC, Southern Baptists, Wesleyan, you name it. When you close yourself off to the other parts of the Body at large, you really miss out!! As you can see, I’m still not sold on the need or good of denominations.
Bringing it all in for a landing, let me tell you what I think personally about a few “contraversial” issues…
I believe God created everything. Did He do it in seven literal days? Well, I think hooking the Gospel on that is like arguing over whether or not Adam had a belly button. It’s sure not worth losing fellowship over.
I believe in the inerrancy of scripture. We have several translations in English. To say the KJV is the only infallible one is just plain ignorant. We received His message in Greek & Hebrew. Translating from one language to another language always has variables. The KJV is one of the ways we can read what God has revealed to us. Not the only way.
I believe children are a precious gift from God & we should embrace each one as such, not desire to control how few we can have. We don’t do that with any other of God’s blessings (money, cars, health, etc.). I think Satan has blinded us enormously in this area.
I believe music is a powerful medium God has given us to communicate in multiple levels. My spirit tells me at times by the way it is done that no matter what the words are saying, it’s not of God. Just like films & books, I can’t lay my finger on it sometimes, but I hear or see or read things at times & just know it’s of God or not by my spirit’s response. BTW, I am so thankful for churches that are starting to take on the film industry & produce Godly stuff – that’s been lacking until recently. It’s another powerful medium of communication & I’m so glad these guys are taking it on.
I believe I am most fulfilled in being a homemaker & wife & mother. When I said “I do” to Keith, I took on that role never to look back. My education was to prepare me for that role. I have no aspirations or yearnings of working outside the home “once the kids are in school”. This is a full time job & I am proud to do it. I desire no other & thank God He gave me this position.
I feel we need to strike a balance between training up our children to live Godly, holy lives, and reaching out to a dying world all around us. Too many are doing exclusively one of the two. Some are too busy building ivory towers to protect their children. Others reach out so much their children don’t catch the Gospel! We were given both the Shema & the Great Commission to implement in our own lives as well as pass on to the next generation. If not, we fail.
I believe there are genuine believers in the American Catholic church today. I do not understand the thinking behind some of the theology & think they are way off in some areas, but they are none the less my brothers & sisters. And while we’re at it, I do not believe you can lose your salvation. (Interestingly enough, some brothers/sisters I’ve talked with would badmouth the Catholic church for their additions to the Gospel while at the same time say a person can lose their salvation if they do or don’t do such & such. How is that really different? “Jesus plus what I do or don’t do” is the same thing in any denomination! I really don’t get that.) Although with some denominations, it is just a matter of semantics. I have spoken with some who believe you can lose it & we boil it down to the same thing in the end. I believe those who “lost it” never really had it to begin with. Once you have really tasted of God’s goodness, you don’t spit it out.
So, there you have it. Tawk amongst yourselves.
I’ve only posted this kind of thing once before, but I felt this idea was worth passing on. For years, I’ve tossed those extra ketchup packets in the freezer after a fast food trip & used them for mini ice packs when the kids bump their head or bang a knee. They work great. Can’t remember where I heard to do that, but whenever I mention it, people tell me it’s a great idea & they’ve never thought to do that before. Even nurses. What’s great about it is first of all, they are free, plentiful, & can be tossed when they’re done with it. Secondly, they are the perfect size for little hands. And thirdly, perhaps most importantly, they don’t totally freeze up but rather stay slushy, so they kind of wrap around the wound instead of having all those sharp edges like ice cubes do. My kids have always used them. So, if one of their friends hurts themselves, they ask if the injured wants a ketchup packet which can bring strange looks, but my kids haven’t noticed that yet.
My dear Grandma Gertie passed away yesterday afternoon from a lengthy bout with kidney problems. She’s my dad’s mom. Raised her family about three miles from where I type. In reflection, I want to put just a few nuggets of wisdom I’ve gleaned from my grandmother over the years…
1) “Let go & let God.” – That was her most quoted phrase. I think she got it from Al Anon. I didn’t always agree with when she applied it, but it’s still the words I think of most when I think of Grandma. That & “Oh, Lawsy!” accompanied by her high pitched, cute, little giggle Dad inherited from her. You should hear it on a man. : ] Makes me smile just to think about it. Anyway, sometimes it’s true. Sometimes you just need to let go & let God deal with it. Let it go. I think that’s where Philippians 4:6 & 7 come in:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
2) Lipstick – gotta have it. Now this lesson I admittedly flunked big time. I mean I get a zero here. But Grandma taught it by the way she lived. World-War-2-bombshell red until you’re seventy or so, then blushing pink from then on out. That is a fundamental “must have” on a woman. She never said anything to me about my lack of it. (Chapstick only here, please.) I really can’t picture her without it.
3) “A little dab’ll do ya.” – Grandma said this one a lot. It should be emblazoned on my refrigerator in gold letters, this glittering mantra of moderation. If only we could remember to live by it in all areas of life, we’d be a lot better off!
4) Playing a few rounds of Yahtzee & putting a jigsaw puzzle together gives you lots of time to talk with your grandchildren. “You’ve got your onsies & your threesies left…” And she called it Yat, rhymes with scat. Not Yahtzee. It is a great game, you have to admit that.
5) Spending a lot of time around someone doesn’t mean you are close to them. Your children will not tell you how they feel or what they need unless you ask them, pay close attention, & genuinely want to know. So I am going to ask them. I vow to stay close to my young’uns & ask those deep questions, like my folks did for me. I have seen first hand that even when your children grow older, they never outgrow their need for your genuine love & affection. If you don’t give them that, there’s a forever hole in their heart that only God by His grace can fill. And I have seen Him fill it, too! So I know He can: He can do anything! But I don’t want to leave for God to do what He gave me the joy & privilege to do.
6) Keep short lists of offenses. People matter more than whatever dumb thing you’re all tied up in knots about right now.
“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
- Ephesians 4:26-28. Grandma spent more than a few years regretting time spent upset with one or another person. She would be the first to tell you it ain’t worth it!
7) Quilts are a beautiful work of love & art. They were one of Grandma’s love languages. I can not imagine spending as many hours as she did quilting, knitting, & crocheting only to give it all away!!! Some were functional, others were very artsy, but all were made with her children & grandchildren in mind & were her way of telling us we mattered a whole bunch to her.
8 ) Genes are funny things. I see Dad in Grandma’s hands, which in turn showed up with Aunt Barb’s hands. I love those hands. Ever busy little sausage fingers! The eyes & giggle showed up in Aunt Mary Lou. The buxom build, yet remarkably flat back end is my reminder I’m Grandma’s, which I share with Aunt Barb. Grandma may be with Jesus, but there are reminders of her in all of us. That’s the way God made it.
9) Grandma taught me how to slow down & smell the roses, literally. She enjoyed God’s creation more than anyone I know: flowers, birds, seasons, trees, fruit, nuts, & mushroons. Yes, I spelled that the way I wanted to. That’s how she said it. I will forever think of her when I stop & hear birds singing (Grandma Birdie) or teach my children the difference between a geranium & a marigold. She passed that on to Dad who in turn passed it on to us. I’ll always fondly remember her front yard covered with those beautiful daffodils, and I do mean covered. I bet if I could take a peek in Heaven right now, Dad is showing her all the beautiful gardens God has entrusted to his care & she is “Oh, hey! Look at that!”ing about each gorgeous bud & critter. I can see it as clear as if I were standing there.
Well, I’m sure I will think of others as time goes on, but for now I need to call Mom & see if she needs anything & what I can do to help with food, etc. You know how that goes. People are coming in for the funeral so there’ll not be want for things to do around here. I don’t have the picture I want of Grandma on this computer, so that will have to wait. Just had to take a an hour this morning to reflect before life marches on.
PS – My sister-in-law put this on her blog. Love it! Thanks, Valerie!!
(Dad baptizing Grandma a few years ago.)
I meant to post this before Christmas, but you know how that goes. Anyway, I found this old draft of a letter I’d sent to a friend right after Callie was born (eight years ago). She was feeling down about her singleness & this was what I sent her for encouragement. I know so many friends out there waiting for God’s best. Another holiday of waiting is hard to take! Facing yet another year with that dream still allusive. This is a long post, but I hope it brings encouragement. It’s what I plan on sharing with our children if/when God calls them to wait…
This morning, after our phone conversation, I awoke at 4am & couldn’t sleep. So, I got up, took a hot bath, read Oswald Chambers, & the Lord brought to mind some things I should’ve shared last night but didn’t think of. So, I thought I’d write them down & share them in a letter.
In thinking back to Keith & me, the critical point for me was when I gave him up “as my Isaac”. Let me explain. There was a point when I knew I loved him & was pretty sure he loved me, but he didn’t know it (women usually know before men i find!). This was about the time I had signed up to go teach in Korea & he was all “excited for me”, remember? Well, that Sunday, after wrestling with all this over a very long weekend, I decided to give him up to the Lord. And not just him, but any & all relationships with guys. My heart’s desire was to be married & have/raise godly children, & God knew that – I felt he gave me that desire. But I had to (as Abraham) literally place that whole desire on the alter, give it up to God by walking up front at TRBC that night, & leaving it all on the prayer steps before the Lord. I told Him that I would give Him my dreams of a family & if He chose to give it back to me, great. But if not, I would be happier with Him alone! And I had to really let that dream die. I think at that point, I was able to make the right decisions about Keith – as far as not writing him, totally letting him go & leaving it up to God to bring him back to me if that’s what was best for me & Keith, etc. & not get “mopey”.
It doesn’t end with marriage. God brought me to a similar “test” later – just last year. We got pregnant right away with Nate & I just assumed we’d be able to “control” & “decide” when we had our kids. Boy, did God show me Who’s in control & teach me through this one! (And I’m so glad He’s in control & not me!!) We “decided it was time” for another child in our family when Nate was a year & a half, but God wanted to teach us something about Himself instead. We prayed – no baby. After over a year, I was really sad about it & (of course) everyone around me was having a baby. There was a time I even prayed for twins thinking, “Well, Lord, since there’s this gap here, maybe You could make use of the extra time between kids & ‘double our money’.” : )
Then Keith’s cousin got pregnant with twins! I struggled with that one. The twins were born & I was still not pregnant & very sad. A week later, while taking a meal to a friend who’d just given birth to her 8th baby, I finally came to the end of the struggle. I had to again totally give my dreams to the Lord & say, “Lord, this is not my life, it’s Yours. You are the Master planner & You have a master plan with my best interest in mind. If Your will is for us to raise one child, I will raise that child happily with all my heart. I will not waste any more of the precious time You have blessed me with all sad about something that obviously isn’t best because You haven’t given it to me & if it was for my best, You would give it to me. You know what’s best for all involved & I trust you. Thank You for being trust worthy!” And I left the dream of any more children totally with God, not to worry about it again but to instead rest in Him & thank Him for this time in my life. A week later, the twins were found to have CP & one almost died. That family went through so much. I was able to pray for them a lot through that because I felt a “connection” to them having prayed for twins & all & feeling that if God had let me “have my way”, that could’ve been me sort of thing. They came to mind very often through all that. Anyway, long story longer, a year later (note: we found out Callie was on the way literally the next month after I gave it all to the Lord!) the twins have been healed completely – no sign of CP now – it “disappeared”! We have a beautiful baby girl! And again, I’ve learned Who’s in control & knows best. It was not until I totally died to my dreams & gave them completely to God that my dreams were fulfilled – as with my relationship with Keith. But I couldn’t lay my dreams on the alter to “manipulate” God into giving me my heart’s desire – I had to just die to them & rest/trust in Him PERIOD.
The other part of that was to find JOY in my dead dreams & to really believe this was all for good. This is where real faith comes in. With Keith, it was going & teaching in Korea – pouring my heart into ministry. I did that before I met Keith, too – teaching Sunday School with all my heart, and I loved it. I really miss not being able/having the time to teach SS like that now! I loved it! I really felt God was using me to make a difference in those kids’ lives. With waiting for Callie, it was praying more for others focusedly (is that a word? Cuz I just used it.) Like, praying for pregnant women, for barren couples, for the abortion issue, etc. I am now much more keenly aware of infertile couples & their pain – I was clueless as to that before! Now I can pray with knowledge for them. I can also testify to God’s perfect timing & encourage them (as with you & relationships) that God does have a plan & His timing is perfect – REST in the mean time! Concentrate on your relationship with the Lord through it all. he is bringing these things into your life & using these circumstances in your life to make you into the person He wants you to be, which is where you will be most fulfilled as His child.
Matthew 6:25-33 = “…don’t worry about everyday life…Look at the birds…your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to Him than they are. Can all your worries add to a single moment to your life? Of course not…why worry…if God cares so wonderfully for the flowers that are here today & gone tomorrow, won’t He more surely care for you?… So don’t worry…your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, & He will give you all you need… if you live for Him & make the kingdom of God your primary concern.”
Oswald chambers wrote, “Pay attention to the Source, & out of you will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense & reasoning, & Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in Heaven. Our Father knows our circumstances, & if we will stay focused on him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually – just as the lilies of the field.”
That really struck me this morning. Isn’t that ultimately what life is all about? We are here to glorify God. PERIOD. God uses life circumstances to shape us into glorifiers (is THAT a word? cuz I just used it!) give us His character so the world may see Him through us & know him. His whole theme throughout the OT & NT & on to Revelation is to “make Himself known”. Psalm 59:13b says, “Then the whole world will know that God reigns…” If I can do that best single, than let it be so, Lord! If I can best do that married, let it be. Best with no children, one child, many children…Your will, not mine! Let me be like Mary & sit at Your feet, learning from You, loving You; rather than getting so caught up in life around me like Martha.
In conclusion, as I was flipping through Psalms to find a verse (they are all over if not looking for them, but not as obvious when you are looking!) about God’s aim of “letting the world know I am God”, these popped out at me & I’ll just list them – you can look them up. I have the NLT which is what I was reading when I found these. Hope they bring the needed encouragement…
Psalm 84:5-7/10-12 Psalm 81:10b/16 Psalm 73:25-28 Psalm 71:5-7 Psalm 66:5,7,9,12b,19,20 Psalm 63:1-8 Psalm 62:1,2,5,8 Psalm 56:3,8,9b Psalm 46:1-3,7,10 Psalm 43:4,5 Psalm 42 Psalm 40:1-3,10,16,17 Psalm 37:3-5,7b,16,18,25,34 Psalm 34:1-19 Psalm 31:5a,14,15a,19,23,24 Psalm 30:5b,11,12 Psalm 27:1,4,8,10,13,14 Psalm 16:2,5,6,8,11 Psalm 4:3,7,8 Psalm 5:3,12
Your sister, Leigh Ann”
2009 Update: The girl I sent this letter to is now married with two sweet boys, God has given us two more children so far, & the twins are still healthy! Saw them over Christmas up in MN – cute. Until I read this letter again, I had totally forgotten they ever had CP. Oh, and God continues to teach me He has a great plan even in the twists & turns. It always turns out better when you lay your plans in His hands!
Also, since writing this to my friend, I’ve found Nancy Leigh DeMoss. If you’re a woman, check her stuff out. Run! Really!! She’s that good.
