National Day of Prayer

The above pic is one I took in Jefferson City years ago...felt like it was appropriate today.

 God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up.  They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!  I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left.  God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.  It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.  It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence.  Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear.  Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst.  Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return.  If he works severely, he also works tenderly.  His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.  He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
   in throwing roadblocks in the way:   Lamentations 3:22-33 (The Message)

Today, my prayer for you my friend, is that you would see God at work all around you...that you would know this crazy God-sized love that He has for you, and that you would not take it for granted.  That you would be so thankful to live right where you are, doing right what you are doing, letting Him shine through you.  That you would be quick to run to Him and let Him fill you with the hope that only He has a limitless supply of.  That you would NEVER give up, and that you would ALWAYS know His presence with you.  I pray that in the times of wait, because there will be many of them, that you will embrace those times for all the learning and refining He can bring through them.  That you will stick to it and watch Him redeem it all.  I pray that you will make good use of your time and be quick to include Him in each day.  And that each new morning will remind you of His faithfulness and put a spring in your step for all the possibilities!  May each of us hold ourselves accountable to the One, true God, letting Him use us in any and all ways that He sees fit.  This is my prayer for you today...on the national day of prayer.

Being cultivated and refined

Last night I was indulging myself in a Christian fiction book.  It's title is The First Gardener and its by Denise Hildreth Jones.  It was one of those books that you literally cry all the way through, but can't put down because you are rooting for the characters to successfully make it to the other side.  At the end, when things are beginning to come around, the gardener that prayed this family through some really hard things is talking with the main female character.  Here's what she says with a heart full of gratitude for both him and for God...and his reply:
     "Act humble if you will, but it's true.  You pressed us.  You pushed our buttons.  You opened our hearts.  Then you dug in like the gardener you are and tilled our very soil until a seed came to life."
     "Ain't never found hearts more worth diggin' in."

Finishing this book, my thoughts were all over the place (and it was midnight, so that's pretty normal for me).  This is exactly what God does.  He is our Master Gardener and He takes the time to prune us, encourage growth, takes the time to work with our picky selves, always knowing it was worth the time and effort He puts into it.  Never giving up on us. 

The following is what scribbled out of my hand/head after finishing the book (and listening to yesterday morning's sermon twice):
     Sometimes we get so busy seeing what we "lost"--what we've been stripped of or had ripped out of our grasp--that we totally miss what we have.
     There is not a soul on this earth that hasn't gone through some form of heartbreak.  100% of us have experienced some form of pain or an even that shook our lives.
     But it's what we choose to do with our life that is so very important.
     Am I going to choose to embrace life and whatever situation I am facing, or am I going to just endure "it" and take the chance on missing out on what God wanted to teach me?
     There are always going to be things that don't seem fair.  People will always share their opinions/assumptions and not be aware of the pain their words might cause.  Someone will always be available to rub you the wrong way.  You are guaranteed to lose a loved one sometime over the course of this life.  Life is full of losses of every shape and size.
     But God is bigger.  He has already overcome.  He has already won the battle and is victorious. He has already provided the ability to walk through any and all things we will ever face.
     And He knows what heart-wrenching pain is.  He watched His only Son be tortured and killed, ALLOWING it when He could have stepped in and stopped it.  BUT, He didn't--because He could see the bigger picture.  He knew the pain would be temporary and worth the cost.  That His going THROUGH the incredible pain of watching His Son die with the weight of all of our sin on His shoulders--would allow Him relationship with each of us.  He knows pain.
     And He feels our pain with us.  As well as our joys.  And He willingly arranges happenings that He knows will bless our very souls.
     He brings us back to life again.  He shows us what we have to live for and why the fight and the struggles are worth it.  He reminds us again and again that He loves us and is more than enough for us.  he holds our hands and walks us through it.
     And the process we go through makes us stronger.  But even more than that it gives us the gift of being able to come alongside someone else when their road is full of potholes, sinkholes, and flat-out missing parts.
     EVERYTHING we go through in life, the good and the bad and all that is in between, TRULY IS A GIFT.  It stretches us, molds us, refines us, and makes us more like Jesus.
     We just need to choose to keep focused on Him and fully trust that He still can see the bigger picture...and that He will see us through!

Cling to Him, take it to Him

Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. ... live in harmony in the Lord. ... Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  Phil 4:1, 2a, 4, 5

Life has so many ups and downs.  It can be overwhelming at times.  Its in those times that we need to just stop and remind ourselves of all the things that God has promised us, and take time to cling to Him and let Him speak to our weary souls.  You don't have to make an appointment to talk to God, all you have to do is cry out to Him...He is always there.  And His word is always powerful and calming.  He is every single thing that we need, at all times.  He will make Himself known to us as we cling to Him and seek Him out.  He sees us as His very own beloved children!  He never gets tired of us or frustrated and want to walk away.  There is not a thing you can do to stop His incredible love for you! 
And in those times where life just seems like it is too much...choose a heart of gratitude and thankfulness.  He will honor the choice you make to thank Him for the good in life despite the hard.  There is always something there that you can be thankful for.  Get your mind to focus on Him rather than on the things at the moment that are hard.
Looking at a crazy schedule and your brain is mush and there are things you HAVE to get done to keep up?  Take it to God, allow Him to build you up (that's me today)
Going through an adjustment stage after a big change in life?  Take it to God, lay it at His feet, give Him the control, thank Him for His constant provision and protection despite the changes
Lonely?  Go to God and let Him talk to your very soul.  You are His beloved child and He longs to spend time with you!
Absolutely anything...once laid at the feet of the cross and given to God...no longer seems so daunting and impossible.  After all, this same chapter later says that there is nothing that is impossible with God!

Abide and bear fruit

Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.  Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.  John 15: 4-9

I pray that you would find the courage to abide in the Father and in the great love that He has for you.  While abiding in Him, I pray that you would bear much fruit for His glory; that He would be able to use your life in any and every way that He sees fit to do so, using that fruit.  I pray that you would know the great power that is at your finger tips as you abide in Him.  That you would cling to Him, know His words, and live your life according to all that He has asked of you.  And that you would know the power that is found in asking of Him.  I pray that you would know the incredible, unmatchable love of God.

Deeper Relationship with God

"God never intended for us to go through life alone.  It feels like it sometimes, but every time I get that urge toward self-pity or desperation, I think of it as an invitation for a deeper relationship with God.  The point of life, in marriage or in singleness--even widowhood-- is that it should bring us to that intimate relationship with God.  And that relationship should fill us--all the way up to our secret and ashamed places--so that we are overflowing with love for Him.  Then we stop searching.  Then we are filled with joy."
--Susan May Warren in her book The Shadow of Your Smile, p. 307

I don't know about you, but that is right in line with what God has been teaching me, especially in the last two years.  Life is NOT about whether you are married or single.  It is about the relationship that you have with God, and where you let that relationship take you.  He wants to be your everything.  He alone can fulfill your deepest desires and the longings of your heart.  He alone can love you unconditionally.  He alone has every single answer for every single thing that you go through.  He alone is enough.  But it is a two-way relationship.  He desires that closeness with you, that we sometimes seek out in a relationship with others.  He wants to talk with you on a daily basis, and He will talk to you if you give Him the chance.  There is so much there, available, if you will just tap into it. 
Make Him the priority of your life.  Leave the relationships/details up to Him.  You don't have to go seeking a mate.  When the timing is right, He will bring it all about.  This isn't just for singles either.  The greatest thing you can ever do for your mate (or your future mate) is to make God your everything!  When your relationship with God is in the right place, and you are growing in Him and He is growing in you the potential that He has already put into place in your life, you will be draw others to you, because they will want the peace, joy, contentment, etc that is evident in your life.  Not only will you be the best person you can be for God, you will also be the best person you can be for your mate (future mate).  You will have more chances to share God in the lives of others, more effective for Him to use.  Who wouldn't want that?
What can you do today to grow your relationship with God deeper?  To become that person that He knows you can be, and wants you to become.  What are you letting hold you back?
Surround yourself with people that you want to be like, who exhibit a life sold out for Christ, who share Him with every fiber of your being.  And seek after Him with reckless abandon.  He will be found by you and it will change your life forever! 

Instructions for how God wants me to live

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?  Who may dwell on Your holy hill?  He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.  He who does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.  He who does these things will never be shaken.  Psalm 15

My prayer for you today is that you would willingly walk in the path that God has for you, and in obedience to all that He asks of you.  While it won't be easy, it will be worth it and it will bring honor to God.  May your life make much of Him!

He loves you that much

My life is living proof that God loves us so much that He will orchestrate events to remind us of that great love.  Today is one more example of that.  You see, I came home from my daughter's sock hop and these beautiful flowers were waiting for me at my door.  With a card.  This is my favorite flower.  And the only writing in the card was a message written from God.  Almost word for word what He has been telling me in my quiet times.  How is that for making His love for me real.  He is more than willing to use His children to bless the lives of others, as His hands and feet.  He can, and does, work for us in ways that we can see with our physical eyes.  I know this, without a doubt, because this is not the first time that He has done something like this for me.  I know that He will do it for YOU, too! 
And for the record, it was not my best friend, who would have know the details to pull this off.  Her car broke down today and her dad had to pick her up from work.  She is just as curious as me to try to figure out who did this.  God had to have put this on someone's heart, told them what flower to get, and what words to write down.  I don't know who He used today, and I am not racking my brain trying to figure it out, because in all reality it doesn't matter. 
The point is this...and I hope it is incredibly encouraging to you... He knows what you need, what you want, who you are, what is in your heart, and all the potential that He has given you.  He is more than willing to reassure you as many times as necessary.  He loves you...more than you can ever know.  He will do whatever it takes so that you know that great love He has for you. 
If there is anything that I know...its that He loves you more than you can imagine...enough to literally remind you in a way that you can physically see (as well as communicating that same thing to you in many other ways).  You don't have to doubt anything that He asks of you, or promises you.  He will tell you in more than one way, and will even use trusted people to reiterate the message.  And He will never ask anything of you that He has not already made the way for you to do.