Lord do it again!

Happy Thanksgiving! Today, as I wake up in my warm home, heat up hot water for tea, and turn on the lights in order to read and write, I give thanks to God. I think now of those pilgrims so long ago who woke on ships rocking in the frigid november waters off the coast in New England--no heat, no electricity, no hot food, no plumbing, no hot showers--and I give thanks for their faithful perseverance. I give thanks to God that my family sleeps in warm, comfortable beds enjoying good health as I think of those pilgrims burying their children and mothers and fathers during that first brutal winter in 1620. Yet they somehow gave thanks in the midst of starvation and sickness and death and uncertainty. How must it have felt to have buried over half of their small number as they clung to survival that first winter? Yet they kept trusting, kept working, kept thanking even in the midst of such insurmountable obstacles and sorrow.

And I think of our nation over 200 years later as she struggled to survive the horrors of Civil War. I just reread Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation and am awed and humbled at such grace, such gratitude in the face of such tragedy. I cannot imagine the weight of worry and sadness and uncertainty, the weight of dealing with a horrific war and the most bitter of divisions that ripped apart families and friends in rancor and hatred, all upon this one, sensitive, truly great man. Yet listen to his opening words in this Proclamation:

"The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they came, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to promote their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict..." He goes on to list a number of blessings that even in the midst of war remain unabated from the "plough" to the "shuttle" to "ships" to the increasing population. "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy." Lincoln therefore urges all Americans to "set apart and observe the last thursday in November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have becomes widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and reverently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and Union."

O Lord, do it again! Heal this nation's wounds. Restore us to peace and harmony and tranquility. How we lack that right now. There is so much division. So much rancor and ugliness and hate. I've never seen such seemingly impossible extremes. And just like the Civil War, both sides are utterly convinced in the rightness of their cause and the wrongness of the other side's. How on earth can there be healing and restoration? But what a call this is to prayer! If the Lord, in His grace and mercy, could heal this nation after the Civil War, He can do it again. Might we, like Lincoln, pray to the Lord Most High for His miraculous healing and reconciliation for this still great nation.

How can we not be moved by Lincoln's expression of thanksgiving in the midst of so much sorrow? I had to ask forgiveness for my own pettiness and often ungrateful heart. Truly giving thanks has nothing to do with our circumstances or our feelings. Gratitude must come from a heart that constantly seeks to rejoice in who God is and what He is doing. It is choosing to focus upon what we have rather than what we lack. Upon what remains rather than upon what is lost. And of trusting that even when we cannot discern the hand of God, that He is nonetheless at work and working all things out for our greater good and His greater glory.

So this day, might we thank the Lord for the bountiful blessings He has graciously bestowed in each of our lives. For our freedom, for our families, for our friends, for our faith, for our food and the provision for all our basic needs. And thank Him that He is not finished with us or with our nation yet. Might we pray for His healing and restoration in our nation and in our lives. In the words of Habakkuk 3:2 "Lord, I stand in awe of Your fame, I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." O Lord, in Your grace, do it again. And to God be the glory.

Positive Pleasures, part 2

Today I am thankful for great literature and for the ability to read. I shudder to think where I would be today without the influence of great writers such as C.S. Lewis or Charles Dickens or William Shakespeare or Phillip Yancey. As I started making a list of my favorite writers, I recognized the futility of such an endeavor--there are so many! And I am thankful for them all! And, of course, God's greatest and wisest and most powerful of all books, the Bible. Honestly, there is just nothing much better in life than curling up at night with a great book--well, except maybe sitting down on the porch in the mountains, listening to the wind in the trees and the songs of the birds, reading a great book... or sitting in the warm sun with the waves pounding in the background reading a great book or soaking in a steaming hot bath late at night reading a great book. Okay, I'd probably be happy sitting in a dentist's office waiting for a root canal if I were reading a great book. Sadly, life seems to afford far too little time to read good books, but I snatch those moments whenever I can.

In his marvelous book, The Screwtape Letters, (which, by the way, if you have not read, is a must read!) C. S. Lewis has a fictional senior devil instructing a junior devil in how to tempt and seduce a human he has been assigned to that is growing too close to the "Enemy" (i.e. God). The junior devil, Wormwood, has to report to the senior devil, Screwtape, that he has lost the man to the Enemy. Screwtape scolds him and explains why he has "let the man slip through your fingers." The first of his blunders was in allowing "the patient to read a book he really enjoyed, because he enjoyed it and not in order to make clever remarks about it to his new friends. In the second place, you allowed him to walk down to the old mill and have tea there--a walk through country he really likes, and taken alone. In other words, you allowed him two real positive Pleasures. Were you so ignorant as to not see the danger of this?... But you were trying to damn your patient by the World, that is by palming off vanity, bustle, irony, and expensive tedium as pleasures. How can you have failed to see that a real pleasure was the last thing you ought to have let him meet? Didn't you foresee that it would just kill by contrast all the trumpery which you have been so laboriously teaching him to value? And that the sort of pleasure which the book and the walk gave him was the most dangerous of all? That it would peel off from his sensibility the kind of crust you have been forming on it, and make him feel that he was coming home, recovering himself?"

Don't you know just what he is talking about (in the positive sense, that is!)? Listening to a majestic piece of music or taking a walk and seeing the trees dressed in oranges and reds, or reading a moving piece of literature... all of it transporting you for just a moment and seeming to give you the faintest whisper of heaven? A touch of true and deep and lasting beauty and wonder that for just a moment takes your breath away. Such is a moment of true pleasure, and I believe, just the tiniest taste of heaven and of all our Lord has in store for us. Glories unending and unimaginable.

So thank You Lord for such pure and simple and good pleasures--reading, walking, hugging a child, stroking a dog, singing. They are each a pale reflection of You, the Giver, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer, the Savior. And to You be the glory.

True Pleasures

As Moses and I walked early this morning, I listened to Ravi Zacharias on my iPod. He was discussing the topic of pleasure, and it was wonderful. He gave 3 principles for what would be legitimate or godly and good pleasures: (1) Anything that refreshes without distracting from, diminishing or destroying your ultimate goal is a legitimate pleasure. (2) Any pleasure that jeopardizes the sacred right of another is an illicit pleasure. (3) Any pleasure, however good, if not kept in balance, will distort reality and destroy appetite for God, is an illicit pleasure.

What a reminder that God is the Giver of all good gifts--of all pleasures. He is the One who gave us not just day and night but flaming sunsets and brilliant pink sunrises. He is the Creator of Blue Herons (and I saw our Blue Heron buddy today in the creek!) and Bengal Tigers and towering majestic mountains and peaceful ocean waves. He is the One who gave us ears to hear music and our loved ones' voices and who gave us eyes to see the beauty of the earth and of paintings and sculptures. He is the One who gave man the ability to create and to produce moving books and movies and music and poetry. He is the Author and Giver of all true and good pleasures, and He made these pleasures because He loves His children. But the question is, will we keep those pleasures in balance? Will we enjoy those legitimate pleasures that bring joy and peace and contentment or will we allow sin to infect and destroy that which God gave as good?

A couple more principles about how pleasures work: a) All pleasure must be bought at the price of pain. For true pleasures, the price is paid before you enjoy the pleasure. For illicit pleasure, the price of pain is paid after you enjoy it. And I might add, the price is always far far worse than anything you could have imagined, and the pleasure always far less than you imagined. b) Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain but from being weary of pleasures (the wrong kind of pleasures)--this is from G.K. Chesteron. c) The closer you get to pure pleasure, the closer you get to the heart of God. The closer you move to illicit pleasure the farther you get from God.

How true this is! There is just nothing like taking an early morning walk with my sweet old lab early in the morning, listening to God's Word on my iPod, and watching the sky slowly start to lighten and the world to awaken from it's evening slumber. The peacefulness of the predawn hours, the serene beauty of the animals we see from deer to Blue Herons to foxes, the joy of moving and listening while feeling the crisp air--truly a pure pleasure that is a gift from my extravagant God. I am always reminded of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies, "Chariots of Fire." Eric Liddell is talking with his sister who cannot understand why he will not give up this silly, trivial dream of running in the Olympics in favor of coming right then to the Mission field. He explains to her, "God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

God did indeed make Liddell for a purpose, and part of that purpose was to run for His glory and win a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics shortly before heading off to the mission field in China. I cannot imagine how many countless people have been impacted by his life--and his pleasure in running--and I count myself as one of them. God used that legitimate pleasure both to bring Liddell great joy and to bring great glory to the Lord.

More on this tomorrow, God willing, but for now, thank You Lord for the pleasures of walking and listening and seeing. Thank You Lord for the pleasures of stroking a sweet old dog and laughing with our children and chatting with my sister on the phone. Thank You for the joys of church and worship with dear friends and the freedom to still do so in this nation. Thank You Lord that most pure and wonderful pleasures are free and simple and so readily available that we often take them for granted (until they are gone). Help us not to miss those good, gracious gifts that You have so freely bestowed upon Your children, simply out of Your boundless love and to bring us joy. To God be the glory.

Sing the 46th!

"Philip, let us sing Psalm 46!"

These are the words Martin Luther would often say to his colleague, Philip Melancthon, during the sometimes very dark days of the Reformation. When Melancthon or Luther were downcast, they would belt out the great "battle hymn of the Reformation"-- "A Mighty Fortress is our God" written by Luther during a particularly tragic time of loss and struggle in his life. The hymn is based upon the words of Psalm 46.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, thought the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God., the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. 'Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the earth!' The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Ps.46

Today I thank the Lord that He is our refuge and strength and very present help in trouble. No matter how crazy our world becomes, no matter how hectic our schedules and to do lists, no matter how hard and challenging our circumstances, no matter how seemingly insurmountable our obstacles, He is our refuge and fortress and "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." It's not all about me and my puny efforts. It's all about Him. It's not about what I can do. It's about what He can and will do through His Holy Spirit. O how I thank Him that it's not all up to me! Because I can't do it--but He is able!

I have always loved the story of Charlton Heston in the movie, "Ben Hur." His director, the great Cecil B. Demille, wanted Heston to actually drive the chariot in the movie's climatic chariot race. Needless to say, folks nowadays don't have much practice in 1st century chariot racing (though my children probably think I might have been around that far back), so Heston struggled for several arduous weeks learning how to drive a chariot. After much hard work, Heston finally came to the director and worriedly confided to him, "Well, I think I can drive the chariot, but I don't know if I can win the race." Demille's answer? "O, you just drive the chariot. I'll make sure you win in the end."

Lord, somedays we're not even sure we can drive this chariot of life. We falter and faint and sometimes fail. But You have promised that if we'll just keep driving, You will make sure we win in the end. If we need proof, all we need to do is look to Calvary, where you defeated the powers of sin and death, and to the empty tomb, where You rose to new, glorious, eternal, resurrection life. And so, too, one day will we. You are our refuge and fortress, and You will never ever leave us. "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised." Heb. 10:35-36 The best is yet to come. Heaven is coming, and it will be glorious! Don't give in or give up--Just keep driving and He'll enable you to win the race.

And while you're at it, why don't you belt out a couple of stanzas of "A Mighty Fortress is our God?" Sing the 46th and watch the devil flee! To God, our refuge, our strength, our mighty fortress who enables us to win in the end, be all the glory.

Beat up, not beaten

The other night I watched the remarkable interview with Gabby Giffords--the young congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head about 10 months ago. Diane Sawyer spoke with Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, about her miraculous recovery from an injury to her brain that is fatal 90% of the time and in nearly all other cases would leave the person with virtually no ability to speak, move, etc. Yet, what a fighter she has been, with her husband by her side, in recovering the ability to walk, albeit slowly and with great difficulty, sing, and speak through the tireless efforts of therapists. Her speech is halting and oftentimes in single words or very short sentences, but she understands and clearly communicates. What a battle--and a long term at that--which requires her to relearn everything with a brain that has suffered severe damage.

I couldn't help but think of how much she has lost: A rewarding and powerful job. Her athletic ability (and she was apparently very active and enjoyed sports). Her powers of speech and intellect--while she still has them, they are diminished to some extent. Her freedom of movement--of being able to drive a car and go where she wants to go when she wants to go. Perhaps the opportunity to bear a child (she and her husband were about to undergo in vitro just before the shooting). Her freedom from fear. Her time (which is now largely devoted to therapy and just trying to recover those abilities that we all take for granted). So much lost--at least in the short term.

And yet in watching her, you sense that she is focused hard not upon what has been lost but upon what can be regained and upon what remains. Her husband. Her family. Her fighting spirit. Her life. One particular exchange really stuck with me. Her husband, Mark Kelly, spoke of rushing to the hospital when she was apparently really having a very hard time and experiencing real despair at what she was facing. When he arrived, she wept, "I'm beaten. I'm beaten." And with such wisdom, tenderness, and yet strength, he told her, "No, not beaten. Beat up, but not beaten. You may be beat up but you're not beaten."

How I have thought of that the past few days. Aren't we all beat up in some way? Beat up by struggles with children or lost jobs or poor health or ill loved ones or our own sinful habits we can't seem to break. Beat up by discouragement or fear or failure.

But as believers, we may be beat up, but we're not beaten. His promises still stand throughout eternity. His power remains unabated and undiminished. His love is forever deeper than the oceans and wider than the breadth of the universe. His infinite amazing grace still covers us all at our very worst. We may be beat up, but with Christ we are never ever beaten. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Heb. 10:23 He is faithful. Even at our most faithless, He is still and forever more faithful.

So today, I thank Him who is faithful. I thank Him for His promises that will stand firm for all of eternity. I thank Him that it's not about our strength or goodness or perfection or power. It's all about His. It's all about Him. And He will ever be faithful. He may have been beat up for us at the cross, but, boy, He was not beaten! He beat the power of sin and death for all eternity so that we need never ever be beaten. So to our glorious sin-beater, be all the glory.

The Voice of Truth

Sometimes it is tough work being a parent. hmmm... Scratch the "sometimes." And it is pretty challenging growing older, with more aches and pains and exhaustion (not to mention the wrinkles and reading glasses). And watching people you love suffer or experiencing financial turmoil or losing a loved one--life can just be downright hard sometimes.

Oftentimes, the things that get me down are the everyday wear and tear of disorganized and ungrateful teenagers and household clutter that I never seem to have time to deal with and overwhelming to do lists. And then, of course, there is the awareness of my sin and selfishness. All these conspire to cause me to grow discouraged and feel defeated.

This morning as I was driving to Bible study, I felt such heaviness and discouragement. I was preoccupied with all my failings. And then, the Lord thankfully broke through my self-centered fog and reminded me Who was on the throne and Who must be the center of my focus and my praise. I just started to thank Him for His grace and mercy and love. I thanked Him for blessings small and large--for all that came to mind. The song "The Voice of Truth" came immediately to mind--the enemy might be telling us we are terrible parents or inadequate spouses or poor cooks or awful organizers or lousy this that and the other--"But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story. The Voice of Truth says do not be afraid. This Voice of Truth says this is for God's glory. Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will listen and believe the Voice of Truth."

God's Voice of Truth tells us we are loved so infinitely much that He sent His only Son to come and die for each one of us. The Voice of Truth tells us that we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. The Voice of Truth tells us that HE IS ABLE to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. The Voice of Truth tells us that He is good and great and loving and kind and merciful and gracious, and He is for us and in us and with us. And the Voice of Truth promises us that He who is in complete and absolute control will do all things for our ultimate good and His glory, and someday He will come and take us all home to be with Him forever.

So today, I am thanking God for who He is, what He has done, and for the Truth that sets us free. Might we listen to His voice today, the Voice of Truth, and not the voices of despair and fear, so that we can live this day, this good day, with joy and gratitude and peace, secure eternally in Him. To God be the glory.

Walk the Plant!

The other day, my 10 year old was working on a homework project on pirates. He was supposed to create a "Wanted" poster for an imaginary pirate, and he had to draw the pirate, explain why the pirate was wanted, give the pirate's description, and indicate the reward for the pirate's capture. He named his fierce looking pirate "Blue Beard"--he had a carolina-blue long mustache made of yarn and a lopsided eye patch. He was one intimidating pirate!

I had to be gone the night before the project was due, so I asked my husband just to make sure our son finished the poster and got it ready to take to school the next morning. Well, I will refrain from making any editorial comments on husbands helping with homework, but while my son completed the poster, I found a couple of "minor" spelling errors. Here was my favorite: in describing Blue Beard's wretched crimes, my son had written in bold letters, "Captured 4 British ships and made the crews walk the plant!" O NO, that is horrible: the dreaded "Walk the plant!"

Can't you just see it? Blue Beard strutting onto those ships, facing the quaking crews, and with a surly snarl, "Okay, you squabs! No mercy here--time to walk the plant!" And then the bewildered crews look at each other, shrug, and go pick up some straggly green plants and start walking around the deck with them. Pretty horrific stuff, eh? Well, after a little chuckle with my son, he replaced that "t" with a "k," and we were back in pirate business--now those crews would be facing much tougher odds--they would be walking the plank off into the depths of the ocean rather than walking the plants around the decks of their ships.

What a difference one little letter made in a word! Boy, I'll bet those pirates would much prefer walking the plant with a "t" rather than walking the plank with a "k." I couldn't help but be reminded of one of my very favorite hymns: "A Mighty Fortress is our God" by Martin Luther. In case anyone is reading this, I want that sung at my funeral! Okay, a bit off the point, sorry. But I love the 3rd and 4th stanzas:

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth; Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.

"One little word shall fell him." I'm not absolutely positive what that specific word is--it could be "Jesus" or "Faith" or "Calvary." But to me it must refer to the Lord Jesus. The Son has defeated the powers of sin and death forever. Praise His name! One little word has made, quite literally, all the difference. I thought about what an enormous difference one letter can make: "sin" or "Son." Our human condition that dooms us for eternity: sin"--but change the "i" to an "o" and the solution that saves us for eternity: "Son." Gone is the penalty of shame, guilt, condemnation, despair, and hell. Instead, the Lord Jesus gives us abundant life, hope, joy, peace, love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and heaven. What a difference! Kind of makes those pirates' vastly different fates of walking the plant rather than walking the plank, pale in comparison, doesn't it?!

So today, thank You Lord for changing absolutely everything with the sacrifice of Your "Son" for our "sin." One little letter makes all the difference. To God, to the glorious, righteous, wonderful Son, be all the glory!

Eyelid oil glands

Are you aware that we all have microscopic oil glands in our eyelids? They apparently lubricate the eye and have something to do with making tears as well (I was curious and looked it up and stopped reading when it started making me feel dumb since it was so far beyond me!) That is just one tiny little, seemingly insignificant, eyelid. I bet you haven't thought much lately, "Wonder how my eye lids are doing? I sure hope that sebaceous gland is operating at peak capacity today." Nope, we just completely take for granted that our awesome Creator made our amazing bodies and that our lungs will breathe in air and our liver will clean and detoxify and our throats will swallow and our fingers will grip and our eyelids will blink and on and on.

I no longer take the oil glands in my eyelids for granted. I woke up today and began to take on the distinct appearance of a prize fighter--on the losing end of the fight. My left eye began to get redder and redder and puffier and puffier and more and more tender. Not only lovely to look at, but uncomfortable as well! I had to laugh. Since determining to be thankful daily and not complain, the Lord has allowed me the joys of a bad back (and hence, no exercise--a real trial for me since I can turn into the wicked witch of the north when I can't exercise), a grumbly stomach, and now, it turns out, a plugged up eyelid oil gland. What's next: an ingrown toe nail and a tooth ache requiring a root canal? I've noticed that choosing gratitude is a whale of a lot easier when everything is going your way! But throw in a sick child or a lost job or a migraine headache and praising and thanking God becomes more of a challenge... but also more of an opportunity to bring God glory.

So, thank You Lord for the incredible, miraculous way our bodies are made. And thank You for the fact that You keep us moving and breathing and living in ways far more complex and remarkable than we can ever begin to imagine. And thank You for eyelid oil glands and the fact that, most of the time, they work flawlessly. And thank You for Bruce Boliek, our wonderful eye doctor, who brought by some kind of ointment that does seem to be helping my eye... though I still look like a prize fighter. Well, and I guess thank You for prize fighters and the fact that I am not one. You know, there is just no end of things for which we can be thankful if we will but choose to look. To God be the glory.

Our job and His job

Early this morning I was doing my Bible study and was answering this question: "How do you and I participate in the sacrifice of Jesus?" Now, I know I'm a mighty slow learner and awfully stubborn as well, so my natural inclination was to look to the verses given and figure out what I need to do. What is my participation, what's my job and my role in all of this, because, after all, I am a big doer. Get busy, do do do, and try as hard as you can, that's my motto (okay, not officially my motto, but you get the idea).

So I started reading those verses looking for my job, my role (so I could go to work) and here is what I learned: My job is... to sin. My participation is to be the one who must be saved by the Savior who does it all, absolutely all, top to bottom--like the veil rent in the temple when Jesus died on the cross. My job is to hand Him my crimson, ugly sins, and He will cleanse and wash me with His blood so that I will be white as snow. (Isaiah 1:18)

He has done it all. "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Here's our role: going astray like sheep. Transgressing. Turning aside. Refusing to esteem the One sent to save us.

Not a pretty picture, but that is me. And that is you. In our most honest moments, we know this is true. The selfish, hateful thoughts we would never admit to anyone. The petty jealousy and envy. Those sinful habits we deplore and yet refuse to give up. The lack of true love and concern for those in need. That temper, that grumbling, that ingratitude, that irritation, that harsh tongue, that apathy. And we deserve nothing but sorrow and grief and eternal damnation. That is our role in His sacrifice. Yeah, I guess I'm pretty good at my job.

But His role, His job is everything. EVERYTHING. HE HAS DONE IT ALL. We can do do do all day long, but He puts His nail scarred hands upon our frenzied, frustrated, bruised hearts and says DONE. It has all been done by the Savior: He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He carries our sorrows. O how I thank Him for that! How many sorrows and griefs we simply cannot bear--their weight is just too terrible, too burdensome--but our Savior can carry them all, gently, lovingly, powerfully. And He will redeem those griefs and sorrows and bring healing to our souls.

But we must accept His gift of Himself. We must say yes to Him and His free gift of salvation. He has done it all, but we must go to Him and accept His grace-saturated sacrifice on our behalf. We don't have to perform or do do do or improve or get better; we simply say yes to Him as Lord and hand Him our sin. And He hands us redemption and His Holy Spirit who enables and empowers and equips us.

So today, I simply thank and praise the One who has done it all for every single one of us. What else can I do but hand Him my sins in repentance and thank Him for His sacrifice that cleanses and brings eternal healing and peace and redemption. He took the punishment we deserve and gives instead His glorious abundant life--we look into the Judge's face, knowing our crimes, our guilt, and see instead the Savior's face who joyfully forgives and frees. Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord Jesus. To You, the Savior, the Healer, the Redeemer, be all the glory.

Not even the weather!

When we are thankful, we cannot help but be content. A thankful heart, is invariably a peaceful, contented heart. And the apostle Paul makes it clear that we are not born contented; we must cultivate that thankful, contented heart. And we do it one choice, one attitude at a time. I was just looking back over Philippians--honestly, I really do think it is my favorite book in the Bible--and was just struck anew by how constantly and consistently he talks about rejoicing and thankfulness and contentedness in it... while sitting in prison, mind you. We just tend to forget that so easily. "Well," we think to ourselves, "if you knew what I was having to go through, the people I have to deal with, the pain I am enduring, the struggles I am confronting..." But Paul wrote this epistle of joy while imprisoned by the Romans, unsure of his fate, unsure of the impact of his ministry, unsure of his health (remember that thorn in the flesh?), unsure of all his friends. What on earth is our excuse?

I have always loved a wonderful passage from the writings of E.B. Pusey, an English churchman and theologian from the mid 1800's. These are his "five suggestions regarding the acquisition of contentment":

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.

2. Never picture thyself under any circumstances in which thou are not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that is is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of the sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."

Wow, I just think that needs no comment! So profound, and if we would heed and follow his suggestions, what contented, thankful hearts we would possess! Not to mention, what a dramatic contrast to the world we would provide. As Paul commands us "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe..." (Phil.2:14-15) If we refuse to complain, we will shine in this dark world, no doubt about it. And we will find ourselves a lot more joyful and more fun to be around to boot! When I reread this passage, I couldn't help but think about teenagers (and some I happen to know quite well). But the thing is, these verses apply to me and to you as well, not just to that curmudgeonly neighbor or that irritable teen or that grumpy driver who won't let you in, or that contrary person who always seems to get under your skin and drive you crazy.

So let's try to go for it--even just for a day--and see what happens. Refuse to complain about anything, even the weather (or the traffic or the political situation or the aches and pains of aging, or the laundry or the mess around your house that no one seems interesting in cleaning up but you... O dear, was that a complaint?!) Thank You Lord for this day, for this day's weather and this day's challenges and joys. You are sovereign over it all, and You "will provide" whatever we, or our loved ones, need this day. Might we live this day You have given us without complaint of any kind and with thankful, contented hearts so that You will be glorified. So to You be the glory.

Shaping worry into prayer

I love Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Phil.4:6-7. "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

So simple, yet so profound. Now if we can just do it. Today. Then tomorrow. And then the next day. When we feel our minds starting to fret, pray. Choose to shape those worries that are disturbing your peace and preoccupying your heart, into prayers and petitions. It starts right at the thought stage. When that little niggling fear or worry or anxious seed begins to form, stop right then and there and reshape it into the form of a prayer. A trusting prayer that lifts it up to the omnipotent, omniscient, merciful, just, and righteous Lord of all. Hand it to Him in thankfulness and trust that He can handle it completely and perfectly and rightly.

And when the next worry starts to form, reshape that one into a prayer as well. And just keep on doing it, over and over again. As we do this consistently, faithfully, we will find ourselves peaceful and joyful and thankful no matter our circumstances. He will settle us down, calm our anxious hearts and order our chaotic thinking.

Thank You Lord for the gift of Your Word that encourages and inspires and instructs us. And thank You for the gift of Yourself so that we know that we are never ever alone, never without hope, never without the One who enables us to transform our worries into prayers that are always heard. To You, the Savior of perfect peace, be the glory.

The Mind, the Heart, the Tongue

Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes: "Over time, choosing gratitude means choosing joy. But that choice doesn't come without effort and intentionality. It's a choice that requires constantly renewing my mind with the truth of God's Word, setting my heart to savor God and His gifts, and disciplining my tongue to speak words that reflect His goodness and grace--until a grateful spirit becomes my reflexive response to all of life."

That is some good stuff! Yes, we know it is a choice (though we often live as if we are mere pawns to our ever-vascillating emotions). But choosing gratitude is more than just an act of the will to be grateful. It is an action of choosing daily to renew our minds in the Scriptures. And that means saying no to some things so we can yes to time alone with the Lord. Maybe we need to say no to wasting a few minutes flipping through catalogues or browsing Facebook or channel surfing or window shopping. This doesn't mean we have to move to the desert and start eating locusts and wearing hair shirts. It just means asking God to show you how to carve out some time every single day to listen to what He wants to tell you that day to encourage you, guide you, convict you, strengthen you. Would we really rather gossip on the phone more than listen and learn and love the God of the Universe? Can we not give Him a few minutes of our day--a few minutes out of the 24 hours that He created and gave to each of us?

I have to admit, for me, reading God's Word has become such a joy and so necessary to keeping me at least moderately nice and unselfish, that my family probably doesn't want to be around me until I have been around the Savior! His Word changes our attitude and alters our perspective so that we cannot help but to become increasingly grateful (and wise and loving and joyful and on and on). So we need to make the commitment to read God's Word every single day, no matter what. Even if all you can do is read for just a minute or two, because, hey, we all have those kinds of days when life just simply falls apart and it's all you can do to put on your clothes! But don't leave the house without clothing your mind in His Word. He is, after all, the God of the heavens and the planets and the farthest stars--He can renew and recharge and redeem your mind even in just a moment. Rom. 12:2 "Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

And don't forget what else Nancy Leigh DeMoss urges us to do: set our hearts to savor God and His gifts and discipline our tongues to speak words that reflect His goodness and grace. Setting our hearts to savor God is what I have been trying to do daily the past few weeks. Choosing to look--really look--at all the manifold evidences of God's overflowing greatness and goodness to us causes us to eschew grumpiness in favor of gratitude, worry in favor of worship, complaining in favor of contentment. Not to mention it makes us a lot more fun to be around (just ask my husband--he just suggested I go write in my blog when I let slip a complaint about my creaky back). The funny thing is, the more you choose to be grateful and seek to look for reasons to rejoice, the more you find them and the more joyful and content you find yourself--even when your circumstances or challenges have not changed one iota. You gotta love that!

Finally the tongue. Fortunately, we women have no problem with this one at all! We are masters at discipling our tongues and using them only to edify and encourage. Just ask our husbands. Or our children.

Well, actually, don't ask mine. And I'm guessing we shouldn't ask yours either. The way I see it, nagging or fussing or lecturing or complaining don't qualify as tongues that reflect God's abundant goodness and grace. I know, I know--if only they would listen to our brilliant instructions and well intentioned nagging, umm, I mean, advising, what a better world it would be! But since that isn't likely to happen until all the planets and stars align and a heavenly chorus sings of our superior intelligence, I assume the better option would be to choose to have mouths that encourage and edify and build up those in our homes, our work places, and our lives. Eph.4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Boy, I want to be a grace-giver, not a burden-multiplier. How amazing is that? We can be the conduits of God's amazing, glorious grace in the lives of those around us simply by choosing to use our tongues to build up rather than to tear down. By choosing to speak words of blessing rather than grumbling.

So, there you have it--renew your mind in God's Word, set your heart to savor God's goodness, and use your tongue to encourage and give grace. Think you can do it? Nope? Well, neither can I--but the Holy Spirit can in us and through us. Emmanuel--God with us, God in us, God for us, God through us. God empowering and enabling us--one mind, one heart, one tongue at a time, one day at a time. And to Him be the glory forever.

God All-Sufficient

Today I shuffled into Sunday school--and I mean shuffled. My back has gone on strike, determined that I no longer take all that it does for me each day for granted. Just this morning, I tried to lean over the washing machine and move the wet clothes into the dryer. But my old aching back shouted, "Not so fast, Ms. Big Stuff! Ha! You think you can pick up those socks on the floor--think again! You figure you can walk the dog or unload the dishwasher without ME, your poor, old, pitiful, ignored back? No way! It's about time somebody around here starting appreciating me!" And it is true, how much we take for granted every single day. Boy, how nice it would be to be able to get up and down into a chair without pain. Or be able to carry the laundry upstairs or pick up shoes and clothes and clean the house (funny how things that we normally resent become so much more precious when we can no longer do them).

I must admit, a battle was being waged within me today--will I choose to indulge in a pity party over my "light and momentary affliction" or would I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and choose gratitude? As I shuffled slowly along the greenway with Moses this morning, I would alternately wince with pain at any little misstep, pining away at all those runners zooming past us but then I would ask the Lord to help me choose thankfulness and dependence upon Him. He would remind me what a blessing it was to be able to see the brilliant yellow and orange and red leaves and breathe the chilly clean air and listen to His Word being proclaimed on my iPod.

And then He reminded me of my favorite people this time of year--the pilgrims. Wonder what a pilgrim mama would do if her back ached? Or her child developed a raging fever? No medicine. No hot baths. No soft sofas or firm mattresses or warm comforters. No warm homes with lamps by which to read and relax. No hot tea, no respite from the unrelenting toil, and no chocolate. O heaven help them, no chocolate!

And yet those pilgrim mamas and daddies persevered and managed to give thanks--because their eyes were fixed not on what was seen but on what was unseen. Not on the temporal but the on the eternal. Not on all they had lost but on all their God had provided. Not on their insufficiencies but on the Lord's all-sufficiency.

I have so loved reading the collection of Puritan prayers from The Valley of the Vision. May this prayer of theirs, in which they beseeched "God All-Sufficient" so many years ago, also be ours today:

O Lord of grace,

The world is before me this day,

And I am weak and fearful,

but I look to Thee for strength;

If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,

but on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal hills;

If left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame Thy Name,

but if enlightened, guided, upheld by Thy Spirit,

I shall bring Thee glory.

Be Thou my arm to support,

my strength to stand,

my light to see,

my feet to run,

my shield to protect,

my sword to repel,

my sun to warm.

To enrich me will not diminish Thy fullness;

All Thy lovingkindness is in Thy Son,

I bring Him to Thee in the arms of faith,

I urge His saving Name as the One who died for me.

I plead His blood to pay my debts of wrong.

Accept His worthiness for my unworthiness,

His sinlessness for my transgressions,

His purity for my uncleanness,

His sincerity for my guile,

His Truth for my deceits,

His meekness for my pride,

His constancy for my backslidings,

His love for my enmity,

His fullness for my emptiness,

His faithfulness for my treachery,

His obedience for my lawlessness,

His glory for my shame,

His devotedness for my waywardness,

His holy life for my unchaste ways,

His righteousness for my dead works,

His death for my life.

Amen and amen. That just about says it all, doesn't it? To think that He gives His abundance, His fullness, His faithfulness, His obedience, His love, His glory, His life to you, to me. He gives it freely, willingly, joyfully and gives it exchange for our filthy rags of shame and guilt and deceit and selfishness and sin. His worthiness for our unworthiness. His fullness for our emptiness. His glory for our shame. His death for our life. For life--abundant, full, eternal, joyous. And so all we can humbly and simply say is "Yes, Lord. Thank You Lord." To You be the glory.

10,000 Blessings

The other day I heard an unfamiliar, but wonderful song, entitled "10,000 Blessings (Bless the Lord)" by Matt Redman. What a reminder that we have limitless reasons to bless and praise our extravagantly good and great Lord, even in the midst of hardships or challenges. We can't wait till we feel like it or enjoy ideal health or favorable circumstances. Rather, we choose, right where we are, despite whatever we might be facing, to bless and worship a God whose grace and mercy and power and love are vaster and wider and greater and deeper than we could ever begin to imagine or hope.

And we choose to thank Him for that which He has bestowed--innumerable blessings upon blessings--and that which He has withheld--destruction, despair, deserved eternal isolation and death. If the sun has come up and finds you again breathing and thinking, thank Him. If your eyes can read these words and your tongue can still taste the pumpkins and apples of autumn abundance, thank Him. If your ears can hear the sound of your loved one's voice or the strains of a symphony, O will you thank Him. If you can laugh with a friend or hug a child or walk over a path of yellowed fall leaves that decorate the landscape with sublime beauty, thank Him. If you can swallow, or cry, or touch, or chew, or sing, or pat your dog, or call your sister, or remember with joy your parents, or raise your hands in praise, O will you thank Him who is the Giver of all good and simple and everyday and, yet so great and profound, things.

The words to 10,000 Reasons:

The sun comes up. It's a new day dawning

It's time to sing your song again

Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger

Your name is great, and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is falling

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

10,000 years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name

Lord, I'll worship Your holy name

Right now, Lord, I worship Your holy, glorious, omnipotent Name that is above all names. My back might be aching and my steps might be slowing, but my soul is rejoicing and thanking You for who You are and all You have done! You are the Creator and the Sustainer of 10,000 upon 10,000 upon 10,000 of the blessings in each of our lives. How many do we miss everyday in our busyness and preoccupation? Yet, despite our ingratitude, You faithfully continue to shower those gifts upon us, upon our world, every single day. So thank You, thank You, thank You Lord! As the sun rises, might we trust You and say "yes" to whatever You choose to bring into our lives this new day. And with the setting of the sun, might we thank You and bless You for the strength to endure and the heart to rejoice. To You, the One who is worthy of all our praise and adoration, be the glory forever and ever and ever.

What does your face say?

Thank You Lord for a wonderful Young Life banquet last night and for the privilege of having a small part in this incredible ministry! We got home fairly late last night, and I was so pumped up from the evening, I couldn't go to sleep. Consequently, I did a little channel surfing and happened to hear just a few minutes on some Oprah Winfrey program talking about "Ah Ha" moments in her life that featured the great writer, Maya Angelo. I've never been an Oprah watcher (though I have nothing against her whatsoever), but Maya's few words riveted my attention. She said something to the effect that her Ah Ha moment came one day when she realized that when her children came into the room, she wanted her to face to light up with joy rather than reflect her disapproval with what they were wearing or how they were acting, etc. She commented that what is in her heart is complete and unconditional love for her children but yet what is in her heart was not being reflected upon her face.

This so convicted me. How often do I do exactly the same thing: when one of my children walks into the room or comes home from school or some activity, my first instinct is to focus upon what they need to get done or what they've left undone or with some shortcoming or some urgent need. That is what is reflected on my face. But what is within my heart is my overwhelming love and joy and wonder that God has blessed me with that child! What is within my heart is overwhelming gratitude for who they are, irrespective of what or how they are doing. These children are ours and will always be our greatest treasures apart from the Lord. Nothing they ever say or do or fail to say or do or be will ever diminish one iota our unyielding, unbreakable, undying, unconditional love for each of them.

O Lord Jesus, forgive me for how frequently I fail to demonstrate with my words and my actions and my facial expressions what is deep embedded in my heart! Forgive me for being so preoccupied with temporal or worldly concerns that I miss expressing what is eternal and important to my children.

And the same goes for my husband, of course! Might he know how much he is loved and respected--beyond all measure and limitation. And might my sisters and brothers know what treasures they are to me as well. And my friends too!

But what a simple, yet profound, way to demonstrate our love for our children and spouses and family--let our faces demonstrate the love that is within our hearts. Put aside the things you want them to do (or not do), the areas you hope they improve, the changes you want them to make and instead ask God to enable you to have a face that lights up when they come home or when they come into the room. A face that says without words, "O, how could I be so blessed! It is you! You are home! I am so glad!" If you need to think what that looks like, think for a moment about your dog's excitement when you come home after being gone for a few days. Or, if your dog is like our old lab, Moses, consider his excitement when you return after being gone for a few hours or even minutes! His jumping and twisting and wiggling says: "It's you! It's you! It's you! You've been gone so long [though it's been 18 minutes] and I never thought you'd come home! How can I help you? How can I help you?"

Might what we value in our hearts be reflected in our faces with our loved ones. And might they know by the momentary undivided attention we give them, just how precious and loved they are. I can't help but think about Jesus as He went around teaching and healing and loving. I've often wondered why He wouldn't just heal everyone in the crowds all at once. He could've, you know. It would have been so much faster and more efficient. With a word or a wave of the arm, He could have healed every single person in the crowd or the village or the country.

But He didn't. He chose, instead, to heal one person at a time. He chose to look them in the eye and give them His full attention. He chose to touch, to lift, to embrace. When a woman who had suffered from unrelenting bleeding for over 12 years, simply touched the hem of His garment and was healed, He gave her that individual treatment. He could have just let her be healed and go on her way anonymously, but He didn't. I've often wondered about that. But now I think it was because He wanted her to know that He knew, that He saw her and valued her and wanted to heal and restore her out of His great love for her. Think what His piercing but completely loving and accepting gaze must have meant to a woman long accustomed to isolation and perhaps even rejection? What a look that must have been!

So today, Lord, I thank You for the immeasurable gift of my husband and children and family. Might they each know how treasured and unconditionally loved they are by me. And might my face light up with joy and wonder when they walk into the room so that what is on my face reflects what is in my heart. Help us to reflect You, Lord Jesus, as we pause to see, truly see, the people You have placed in our lives and to reveal to them, not just with our words but with our faces, our love--which is really just Your love. And to God be the glory.

The Great Blue Heron

Today I am thankful for the Great Blue Heron. It had been a morning of rushing around and feeling frazzled with all I had to get done. But when Peter and I finally managed to stagger out the door with our dog Moses in tow, the morning air was clear and chilly, but incredibly refreshing. We glanced up at the sky and beheld such a beautiful crystal blue that it almost took your breath away. Perspective began to clear and attitudes began to improve with each step we took.

And then we saw him. I hadn't seen the Great Blue Heron in at least a month. I always look for him in the creek running beside the greenway, but he had made no appearances recently (which always worries me). But as we crossed the bridge on the way to school. we looked over into the creek, and there he was, smack in the middle of the creek, looking right at us. I don't think I have ever been that close to him. And he is just simply beautiful--one of God's masterpieces--tall, dignified, graceful, alert, impossibly long skinny legs, and truly a lovely blue color. Just amazing. And standing serenely in the midst of that flowing, cold water, unbothered by the temperature or the passing traffic or the watching eyes.

So thank You Lord for such beauty and uniqueness that surrounds us at every turn. How many cars zipped over that bridge this morning, unaware that such a remarkable creature stood just feet away from them. As I felt the rising stress of bustling about and busily multi-tasking my way through the day, I kept going back to him in my mind's eye, calm and peaceful and observant right in the midst of noise and confusion. If God can give such an unthinking creature peace, then surely He can and will give it to His own beloved children.

Right now it is getting late, and I am tired... but I am thankful for the Great Blue Heron and the God of the earth and the sky and the seas. The God of the galaxies and the the microscopic cells. The God of the tiny, frenetic hummingbird and the giant serene heron. The God who never slumbers or sleeps and the God who gives His own restorative rest. The God who never gives up, never gives in, never fails, never forgets, never misses, never mistakes. And the God who will sacrifice His all that His children might enjoy eternity with Him. The God who dies that we might live. To God, the Maker of heaven and earth, be all the glory.