Baby steps. Baby steps.
Yesterday afternoon, Peter and I found the long-lost iPod. My husband and I had completely forgotten where we hid it a weeks back--so frustrating, these crummy memories! That iPod seemed doomed to oblivion, perhaps to be found years from now by one of our yet to be born grandchildren. And then, glory, as Peter searched and opened drawers, it suddenly dawned upon me! A flash of recognition with the memory of hiding it in the dining room sideboard! O thank You, Jesus, that I still have a few, a very few, remaining brain cells.
So, one item crossed off the list. Hmm, that still leaves the clutter, the church location, the messed up computer... and on and on. But for now, let's rejoice in those baby steps! I remembering way back in September--we are "prisoners of hope!"
Like I said yesterday, sometimes we forget. It's good to remember... and rejoice.
And so God gives us His Word to remind us, to guide us, to strengthen us in the rock-solid, bank-your-life-upon-it Truth. Just this morning, I read in Romans 15 "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
And "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Don't we all need that? Hope. God's hope. True hope, because it is hope based not on"hope so" but on "know so." Hope embedded deep in His unshakeable Truth, in His infinite power, in His unending love, and in His glorious grace.
I talked last night with a very dear and wonderful mama who is aching for her son's illness. I got off the phone and wept for the struggle and hardness and sorrow of it all. But overarching the pain, they are a family filled with God's hope. Because this son, this fine, godly man who will be speaking to our high schoolers in a few days, wants to glorify God through it all. To shine forth a God who uses disease and distress and weakness and somehow, someway produces glory, and ultimate good.
And, yes, hope. Hope, even in the midst of the hardest of places. O Jesus, give them more hope. Open our eyes to see Your unshakable hope and to share it with others.
I read this prayer the other day by Scotty Smith--it's all about gospel hope. Real hope. For we are prisoners of hope--even in ICU's or cancer wards or lonely, quiet homes or prison cells.
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you." (Eph.1:18) O help us to know that hope, Father, and to share it and shine it.
For You have not suggested that we hope. You have called us to hope. Your hope.
Here is Scotty Smith's prayer based on this verse:
"Merciful Father, if a sheriff knocked at my door this morning with a subpoena, I'd be a bit unnerved. But today, like every day, the gospel is knocking at my door to subpoena me to hope. Nothing more settling and centering. Thanks for making hope a calling. You haven't extended a general notification or given me a polite invitation. I am called to hope in Jesus, just as surely as you called me to a saving knowledge of His grace and will call me to an eternal celebration of Your presence one day. I wouldn't think of ignoring a summons from the sheriff; I'd be crazy to ignore a summons from You... Free me from fixing my gaze on circumstances and people. I tend to give them way too much power over my heart. Paul wrote these words of encouragement from a Roman prison, not from a Mediterranean condo. What do I have to complain about? I have real needs, but You give an ever brighter hope. Bring enlightenment where there's been dullness and myopia of late. Throw the curtains all the way open; lift all the clouds; do more laser surgery on the eyes of my heart, if need be. Just show me more of Jesus--that's all I really need. I pray in His tender and triumphant name. Amen."
Might we heed Your call to hope in You this day. To God be the glory.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Morning-after gratitude
So... it's the morning after a joyous long weekend in the mountains. Quite literally, we've left the mountain-top experience and have slogged back down into the valley.
And here's the sad truth: I had forgotten all about God's astounding goodness, all about the innumerable answered prayers, all about His amazing grace, all about His glorious creation displayed continually before our eyes.
Nope, forgot about all of it and instead began to sport the old bad, ungrateful, frenzied but exhausted attitude of "Look at this messy house--how will I ever find time to get rid of all this clutter? How on earth am I going to plan a wedding? Where do we even start? And, mercy, where are some clean shorts for my son to wear to school? Why hasn't someone put out the recycle? What in thunderation is wrong with our email and how will we know anything about anything if we can't receive emails? And..."
Yeah, maybe you get the picture.
Too much to do... but too little energy and even desire.
Too much frustration...and too little joy.
Too much preoccupation with my circumstances... and too little praise of my Savior.
Too much me, myself and I... and too little Redeemer, Restorer, and Reviver.
Too much forgetting and too little remembering to give thanks!
O Lord Jesus how I praise You for lifting my head and raising my gaze--away from belly-button focusing and onto blessings You have showered upon us daily.
I just read, "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." (Phil.4:6-7)
It's a choice--"Be anxious for nothing" (nothing includes not being anxious about finding a church for a wedding since our church meets at Broughton High School... and it includes computer/email glitches... and it includes finding my son's lost ipod touch that we put away and now can't remember where we hid it! Good night!)
And then it's a choice--pray about everything. Doesn't He who formed every single microscopic cell in the universe and who gave the dolphin perfect radar and who painted stripes on the zebra and who carved out the majestic mountains. also have the power and creativity to meet our needs--from trivial to trying? I'm thinking so.
But it's a choice to pray with thanksgiving. Good grief, how quickly I forget this. How easily we can slip into the "Poor me" or "Pouting me" or "Petrified me" or "Frustrated me."
Mark Buchanan writes: "All the wickedness in the world begins with an act of forgetting...The heart of wickedness and godlessness is that: a refusal to glorify God. It's the refusal to thank Him."
Wickedness isn't so much that drug dealer or that murderer or that boaster or that liar. Sure, that's horrific and that's sin, but wickedness begins with me, in me--in my ingratitude. In my refusal to give God thanks and instead revel in my worry or irritation or selfishness.
I love Ann Voskanp's prayer "Father God, You are the Begetter of grace. Forgive me for being a forgetter of thanks. This is no trivial thing. It leads to wicked things. Hear the cry of my heart: Forgive me for not giving You thanks. If thanks is the highest form of thought--make it my first thought. Turn me toward thanks first--so my life doesn't turn into the last thing I'd hoped for. Turn me towards You first--first things first means to give You thanks first."
And Joni Eareckson Tada says essentially the same thing--it all begins first thing in the morning. By setting our attitude for the day--away from ourselves and our selfishness and criticalness and ungratefulness and towards Jesus and His grace and goodness and power and provision.
It's about Him, not me. His grace and my gratitude. His power and provision and my prayer of dependence.
So... back to where I started, only now overflowing with gratitude towards my Savior, my Lifter-Upper of my gaze, my Giver of all good gifts, my Great Physician, my Creator, my Power, my Forgiver, my Finder and Revealer, my Sustainer, my Prayer-Answerer, my Sovereign, and my Lord.
He's got it all taken care of--from the lost ipod to the lousy email to the location of the wedding.. and everything else in between.
Lord, we thank You and praise You for all You've done..and all You're doing right now... and all You will be doing in the future, in our lives and in the world. Help us to trust You and to thank You even when we cannot see with our eyes... but we know with our faith. For You are forever worthy.
To God be the glory.
And here's the sad truth: I had forgotten all about God's astounding goodness, all about the innumerable answered prayers, all about His amazing grace, all about His glorious creation displayed continually before our eyes.
Nope, forgot about all of it and instead began to sport the old bad, ungrateful, frenzied but exhausted attitude of "Look at this messy house--how will I ever find time to get rid of all this clutter? How on earth am I going to plan a wedding? Where do we even start? And, mercy, where are some clean shorts for my son to wear to school? Why hasn't someone put out the recycle? What in thunderation is wrong with our email and how will we know anything about anything if we can't receive emails? And..."
Yeah, maybe you get the picture.
Too much to do... but too little energy and even desire.
Too much frustration...and too little joy.
Too much preoccupation with my circumstances... and too little praise of my Savior.
Too much me, myself and I... and too little Redeemer, Restorer, and Reviver.
Too much forgetting and too little remembering to give thanks!
O Lord Jesus how I praise You for lifting my head and raising my gaze--away from belly-button focusing and onto blessings You have showered upon us daily.
I just read, "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." (Phil.4:6-7)
It's a choice--"Be anxious for nothing" (nothing includes not being anxious about finding a church for a wedding since our church meets at Broughton High School... and it includes computer/email glitches... and it includes finding my son's lost ipod touch that we put away and now can't remember where we hid it! Good night!)
And then it's a choice--pray about everything. Doesn't He who formed every single microscopic cell in the universe and who gave the dolphin perfect radar and who painted stripes on the zebra and who carved out the majestic mountains. also have the power and creativity to meet our needs--from trivial to trying? I'm thinking so.
But it's a choice to pray with thanksgiving. Good grief, how quickly I forget this. How easily we can slip into the "Poor me" or "Pouting me" or "Petrified me" or "Frustrated me."
Mark Buchanan writes: "All the wickedness in the world begins with an act of forgetting...The heart of wickedness and godlessness is that: a refusal to glorify God. It's the refusal to thank Him."
Wickedness isn't so much that drug dealer or that murderer or that boaster or that liar. Sure, that's horrific and that's sin, but wickedness begins with me, in me--in my ingratitude. In my refusal to give God thanks and instead revel in my worry or irritation or selfishness.
I love Ann Voskanp's prayer "Father God, You are the Begetter of grace. Forgive me for being a forgetter of thanks. This is no trivial thing. It leads to wicked things. Hear the cry of my heart: Forgive me for not giving You thanks. If thanks is the highest form of thought--make it my first thought. Turn me toward thanks first--so my life doesn't turn into the last thing I'd hoped for. Turn me towards You first--first things first means to give You thanks first."
And Joni Eareckson Tada says essentially the same thing--it all begins first thing in the morning. By setting our attitude for the day--away from ourselves and our selfishness and criticalness and ungratefulness and towards Jesus and His grace and goodness and power and provision.
It's about Him, not me. His grace and my gratitude. His power and provision and my prayer of dependence.
So... back to where I started, only now overflowing with gratitude towards my Savior, my Lifter-Upper of my gaze, my Giver of all good gifts, my Great Physician, my Creator, my Power, my Forgiver, my Finder and Revealer, my Sustainer, my Prayer-Answerer, my Sovereign, and my Lord.
He's got it all taken care of--from the lost ipod to the lousy email to the location of the wedding.. and everything else in between.
Lord, we thank You and praise You for all You've done..and all You're doing right now... and all You will be doing in the future, in our lives and in the world. Help us to trust You and to thank You even when we cannot see with our eyes... but we know with our faith. For You are forever worthy.
To God be the glory.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Simply "Thank You, Lord!"
Remind me, Lord Jesus, when I get worked up over the insignificant and the temporal and the replaceable in life, that the greatest gifts in our lives are not possessions that we hold or places that we go or accolades which we receive.... or perfect homes or bodies or circumstances or lives or anything which the world says brings happiness and fulfillment.
No! Our joy, Father, is in You. You are our hope. You are our Treasure. You are our Rock and our Stronghold and our Glory.
And You are the Giver of ALL good and great gifts. And other than our greatest treasure--the Lord Jesus--it is the people You have placed in our lives that are our most priceless and joyous and wondrous gifts. Oh, Father, forgive us when we take any of them for granted. Forgive us when we demean or diminish in any way any of Your beloved creations--Your children--each of whom You loved so infinitely much that You sent Your only Son to redeem and restore.
Help us to love them, love them all, Lord, as You love them. And remind us daily of the wonder of their presence in our lives. Sure, they're not always perfect (nor are we). Sometimes they may seem like "a bruising of a blessing!" But they are Your blessings in our lives, Your gifts. And we simply say, thank You, Lord.
Give us more wonder. Give us more love. Give us more Jesus. To God be the glory.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Wind in the mountains
A little food for weekend thought:
From today's, Daily Light: "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give me them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light." (Ps.36:7-9)
"Since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him." (Isa.64:4)
Thank You Lord for the gift of a new, fresh day. Your glorious mountains reflect their Maker--strong, immovable like our Rock in Whom we take refuge. Lush, colorful, full of life and beauty, magnificent like our Redeemer and Sustainer and Creator.
And right now the wind rattles the windows and rushes powerfully through the trees and hills, and I cannot help but think of Your Holy Spirit. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:1-3)
Lord, might Your Holy Spirit blow through us, refreshing and reinvigorating those tired and shallow and worn out places in our lives. Lord, we don't want to just go through the motions, just barely surviving, but not really living in the fullness You desire for us. You didn't create us to just survive another day. No, You created us to live Your abundant, full Life--real Life, with a capital L--in living color, by Your power and to Your glory. But we can't do that on our own--it's only by and through Your Holy Spirit. That rushing, powerful Wind!
We want to drink deeply from the river of Your eternal pleasures. We want to live in Your Light, not in the pallid, weak shadows of our worldly selfishness and shallow desires. We want to know what it is to feel Your Holy Spirit blow through us, changing, resurrecting, restoring, reviving. O Lord, only Your Spirit can resurrect even those dead dreams and moribund hopes and barren relationships in our lives. And in their place bring Your glorious Life and Light and Love.
So Lord, do it! Just as You did it with those disciples thousands of years ago, just as You do it daily in the lives of believers all over the globe, Lord, do it again, do it in our lives! To God be the glory.
From today's, Daily Light: "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give me them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light." (Ps.36:7-9)
"Since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him." (Isa.64:4)
Thank You Lord for the gift of a new, fresh day. Your glorious mountains reflect their Maker--strong, immovable like our Rock in Whom we take refuge. Lush, colorful, full of life and beauty, magnificent like our Redeemer and Sustainer and Creator.
And right now the wind rattles the windows and rushes powerfully through the trees and hills, and I cannot help but think of Your Holy Spirit. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:1-3)
Lord, might Your Holy Spirit blow through us, refreshing and reinvigorating those tired and shallow and worn out places in our lives. Lord, we don't want to just go through the motions, just barely surviving, but not really living in the fullness You desire for us. You didn't create us to just survive another day. No, You created us to live Your abundant, full Life--real Life, with a capital L--in living color, by Your power and to Your glory. But we can't do that on our own--it's only by and through Your Holy Spirit. That rushing, powerful Wind!
We want to drink deeply from the river of Your eternal pleasures. We want to live in Your Light, not in the pallid, weak shadows of our worldly selfishness and shallow desires. We want to know what it is to feel Your Holy Spirit blow through us, changing, resurrecting, restoring, reviving. O Lord, only Your Spirit can resurrect even those dead dreams and moribund hopes and barren relationships in our lives. And in their place bring Your glorious Life and Light and Love.
So Lord, do it! Just as You did it with those disciples thousands of years ago, just as You do it daily in the lives of believers all over the globe, Lord, do it again, do it in our lives! To God be the glory.
Friday, May 24, 2013
9 months later--a wedding!
Exactly nine months ago today, four special high school senior girls were in a terrible wreck. Life changed in a moment for all of us, and on the night of Friday, August 24th, we learned our younger daughter had suffered a shattered ankle and a traumatic brain injury. She lost consciousness at the time of the accident and for the next two weeks, the doctors were unable to wake her. We didn't know if she'd ever wake up or if she did, if she would ever be able to eat or talk or walk again.
But even at the darkest moments, God was there. We learned that there is no pit too deep that He is not deeper and greater still... and He never left us, not for a moment.
"Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Ps.61:1-2)
And now today, nine months later, at about the same time of the day--at 5:00, our oldest daughter just got engaged!
Matt Tilmes proposed to Mary Norris in the mountains of NC this afternoon. And now our whole family is celebrating! God is so good! Who could have dreamed nine months ago where we would be today?
So now, we've just finished eating a big old dinner, taking a walk on a crisp, spring night (in fact, it feels exactly like a fall day--wonderful!), and we've just put on the movie, Father of the Bride. Yep, always loved that movie, and when we watched it the first time, Mary Norris was two years old. Where did the years go? We're liking Steve Martin's character's idea of a backyard cookout for the wedding reception... not sure that will fly with our daughter. Movie time so better sign off... thank You Lord for reminding us that You work all things for ultimate good. Even when we cannot see the way ahead, You are already there ahead of us. And we can always trust Your ways to be best.
To God be the glory.
But even at the darkest moments, God was there. We learned that there is no pit too deep that He is not deeper and greater still... and He never left us, not for a moment.
"Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." (Ps.61:1-2)
And now today, nine months later, at about the same time of the day--at 5:00, our oldest daughter just got engaged!
To God be the glory.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Weeds... and trusting
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'... your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." (Mt.6:25-33)
Don't you love how Jesus uses such everyday but vibrant word pictures? Who among us has not marveled at the birds and considered with awe their graceful flight and beguiling song? I love birds... and so does their Creator. Think of it: the One who fashioned the birds out of nothing, points to them and says, "Look and learn--God created and cares for even the tiniest sparrow--so you can trust Him to care for you!"
And then there are the lilies of the field. Arrayed in splendor.
Just the other day, Moses and I meandered along the greenway. Most of our short walk, we are covered by a thick canopy of trees--the shade is marvelously welcome in the heat of summer, though it can become a bit dark on cloudy days or in the early morning. But just after crossing the long bridge, the path curves around and suddenly opens out onto a large open field. On sunny days, your eyes have to adjust to the sudden intense brightness. But the contrast of shaded trees to a sunny field always brings a lift to your heart.
Especially this time of year. For you see, right about now, the fields are full of yellow clover--
This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice, for it's a splashy, neon yellow field blanketing a vibrant spring green backdrop. If you have eyes to pause and truly see, it will take your breath away.
To think--weeds! These are all weeds! The kind gardeners despise when they crop up in their lawns. And yet, when you glimpse the canary yellow clover arrayed in all it's finery on the greenway field, well, you can't help but give glory to it's Creator. No one fertilizes or waters these lowly weeds. Nope--no one except Almighty God.
And so they just grow and grow... and boldly announce the glory of the One who makes something out of nothing. The One who takes that which the world despises and transforms it into a field of beauty. And the One who takes our failures and weaknesses--and incredibly, impossibly brings forth good and even beauty from ashes.
It all reminded me of the words of part of an old Livingston Taylor song I've always loved: "There are flowers in my garden. Pretty ones all in a row. But my favorite are the weeds--they don't know where to grow... but they know enough to grow."
So if that's what God does with old throw-away weeds that nobody wants, that's here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He care for, love, nourish, and sustain you and me?
Jesus tells us, commands us, not to be anxious.. and then He points to the birds and the lilies of the field. We have 24 hour reminders all around us that God is forever faithful--just look outside your window and see the birds and the weeds!
Lord, open our eyes that we might see... and our hearts that we might believe and trust in Your never failing promises. When fear or anxiety begins to weigh us down, help us to remember the birds and the weeds... and trust in Your perfect love and care for us. To God be the glory.
Don't you love how Jesus uses such everyday but vibrant word pictures? Who among us has not marveled at the birds and considered with awe their graceful flight and beguiling song? I love birds... and so does their Creator. Think of it: the One who fashioned the birds out of nothing, points to them and says, "Look and learn--God created and cares for even the tiniest sparrow--so you can trust Him to care for you!"
And then there are the lilies of the field. Arrayed in splendor.
Just the other day, Moses and I meandered along the greenway. Most of our short walk, we are covered by a thick canopy of trees--the shade is marvelously welcome in the heat of summer, though it can become a bit dark on cloudy days or in the early morning. But just after crossing the long bridge, the path curves around and suddenly opens out onto a large open field. On sunny days, your eyes have to adjust to the sudden intense brightness. But the contrast of shaded trees to a sunny field always brings a lift to your heart.
Especially this time of year. For you see, right about now, the fields are full of yellow clover--
This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice, for it's a splashy, neon yellow field blanketing a vibrant spring green backdrop. If you have eyes to pause and truly see, it will take your breath away.
To think--weeds! These are all weeds! The kind gardeners despise when they crop up in their lawns. And yet, when you glimpse the canary yellow clover arrayed in all it's finery on the greenway field, well, you can't help but give glory to it's Creator. No one fertilizes or waters these lowly weeds. Nope--no one except Almighty God.
And so they just grow and grow... and boldly announce the glory of the One who makes something out of nothing. The One who takes that which the world despises and transforms it into a field of beauty. And the One who takes our failures and weaknesses--and incredibly, impossibly brings forth good and even beauty from ashes.
It all reminded me of the words of part of an old Livingston Taylor song I've always loved: "There are flowers in my garden. Pretty ones all in a row. But my favorite are the weeds--they don't know where to grow... but they know enough to grow."
So if that's what God does with old throw-away weeds that nobody wants, that's here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He care for, love, nourish, and sustain you and me?
Jesus tells us, commands us, not to be anxious.. and then He points to the birds and the lilies of the field. We have 24 hour reminders all around us that God is forever faithful--just look outside your window and see the birds and the weeds!
Lord, open our eyes that we might see... and our hearts that we might believe and trust in Your never failing promises. When fear or anxiety begins to weigh us down, help us to remember the birds and the weeds... and trust in Your perfect love and care for us. To God be the glory.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Greenway Treasures
The other day, I joined a couple of friends for a walk on the greenway. First of all, can I just say, I love the greenway? It's a little slice of God's lush wild creation right smack in the middle of the city. Old Moses and I have seen countless deer, foxes (in fact a whole family of foxes one time), rabbits, snakes (okay, not as delightful to see them), blue herons (on the other hand--wonderfully delightful), a coyote (not delightful, though remarkable), and countless cardinals (delightful, once again), blue birds and on and on.
Then, of course, there is the constant joy for Moses of dogs and more dogs... and the smells. I've heard it said that sniffing the unmentionable stuff dogs love to sniff is their version of happily reading the morning paper. hmm, God has a purpose for everything, doesn't He... well, except roaches.
And this is all for FREE! Can you believe that? "There is no free lunch"--HA, wrong! Go walk on the greenway and breathe deep just after the rain has washed the earth clean and new. O, and don't forget to enjoy the sweet scent of the honeysuckle--and thank the Lord He just enabled you to take that air deep down into your lungs.
Anybody around here know how to create lungs that allow you to take that next breath or smell that scent of that honeysuckle... or that newborn baby... or that mint? Didn't think so.
The greenway beckons-- so we can listen to the symphony of birds on either side of the woods and marvel at the incalculable gift of sound and music. And ears that allow us to hear them. And hearts that allow us to feel wonder and gratitude.
Free, all free and courtesy of a God who adores us. "All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3)
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein" (Ps.24:1)
So today, might we rejoice in God's beauty all around us--His gift of creation, His gifts of hearing and seeing and smelling and feeling, and His gift of His Son through Whom He has given us the greatest of gifts: eternal life--
"For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether throne or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Col.1:16-17)
When we smell the rose or the freshly cut grass or the gardenia, might we rejoice in Him who created all things. And when we see our loved one's face or hear the sound of our child's laughter or gasp at the striking beauty of a pink-painted sunset, might we immediately thank Him and hand all the glory to our Lord. He is the One who sustains all creation and holds together every cell, every emotion, every thought, every person, and every entity on this planet, whether seen or unseen, by the power of His Name.
And He knows your name.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the common, everyday graces with which You surround our lives. Forgive us for so often forgetting that You are the Creator of all good gifts. Forgive us for taking so many treasures in our lives for granted.... for the free treasures in our lives are the greatest and deepest ones. Open our eyes, Lord, to the beauty and the wonder and the grace You shower upon us daily. Fill our hearts with thanksgiving to You and for You. Replace our restless hearts with hearts that rest in You.
And, Father, break our hearts with the things that break Yours--the need, the hurt, the emptiness, the sorrow, the fear. So many around us are hurting. Replace our hard hearts with Your tender heart. Give us gospel compassion and grace that pours out Your love upon those You made in Your image.
To God--our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer--be all the glory.
Then, of course, there is the constant joy for Moses of dogs and more dogs... and the smells. I've heard it said that sniffing the unmentionable stuff dogs love to sniff is their version of happily reading the morning paper. hmm, God has a purpose for everything, doesn't He... well, except roaches.
And this is all for FREE! Can you believe that? "There is no free lunch"--HA, wrong! Go walk on the greenway and breathe deep just after the rain has washed the earth clean and new. O, and don't forget to enjoy the sweet scent of the honeysuckle--and thank the Lord He just enabled you to take that air deep down into your lungs.
Anybody around here know how to create lungs that allow you to take that next breath or smell that scent of that honeysuckle... or that newborn baby... or that mint? Didn't think so.
The greenway beckons-- so we can listen to the symphony of birds on either side of the woods and marvel at the incalculable gift of sound and music. And ears that allow us to hear them. And hearts that allow us to feel wonder and gratitude.
Free, all free and courtesy of a God who adores us. "All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3)
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein" (Ps.24:1)
So today, might we rejoice in God's beauty all around us--His gift of creation, His gifts of hearing and seeing and smelling and feeling, and His gift of His Son through Whom He has given us the greatest of gifts: eternal life--
"For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether throne or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Col.1:16-17)
When we smell the rose or the freshly cut grass or the gardenia, might we rejoice in Him who created all things. And when we see our loved one's face or hear the sound of our child's laughter or gasp at the striking beauty of a pink-painted sunset, might we immediately thank Him and hand all the glory to our Lord. He is the One who sustains all creation and holds together every cell, every emotion, every thought, every person, and every entity on this planet, whether seen or unseen, by the power of His Name.
And He knows your name.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the common, everyday graces with which You surround our lives. Forgive us for so often forgetting that You are the Creator of all good gifts. Forgive us for taking so many treasures in our lives for granted.... for the free treasures in our lives are the greatest and deepest ones. Open our eyes, Lord, to the beauty and the wonder and the grace You shower upon us daily. Fill our hearts with thanksgiving to You and for You. Replace our restless hearts with hearts that rest in You.
And, Father, break our hearts with the things that break Yours--the need, the hurt, the emptiness, the sorrow, the fear. So many around us are hurting. Replace our hard hearts with Your tender heart. Give us gospel compassion and grace that pours out Your love upon those You made in Your image.
To God--our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer--be all the glory.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
How a grateful leper forgives
A little food for weekend thought:
"The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God's sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope--at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God's grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God's grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin."
Someone asked a probing question about dealing with our very real emotions of fear or anger or even hatred when someone has hurt or disappointed us. Do we suppress our emotions and essentially pretend everything is lovely? Do we stuff our emotions? Do we lash out and release our emotions? And how do we glorify God in these hard, challenging places?
I'm clearly no theologian (understatement of the year), but this is right where we all live, isn't it? How do we forgive the unforgivable or love the unloveable? When I'm feeling wronged, or, what's far more difficult--when someone I love has been wronged-or when I'm just feeling irritated or discouraged, I've found there's only one sure solution--
Cling to the cross. Gaze at His grace.
I love this quote by Tim Keller, because he so clearly expresses our strange, remarkable, and miraculous position--"more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope--at the very same time." We fail to truly grasp our real position--how truly awful our (or my) sins can be and are--our (or my) ugly thoughts, our hateful tendency towards competition and comparison, our refusal to extend true mercy and compassion, our greediness and clench-fisted hold on possessions or people, our failure to speak out and defend the powerless... and on and on.
And then super-imposed upon the extremity of my sin--is the infinite enormity of Christ's grace. The perfect, sinless, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, saw me in all my ugliness and said, "Her, I'll die for her. Father, give her My righteousness and I'll take her hideousness. Make her beautiful in Your sight and give Me her guilt and shame."
That's the divine exchange. And that's why A.W. Tozier can write that at the moment of salvation, "God through Christ turns rebels into worshippers." Because when we glimpse, even if just for a moment, even if it's just a tiny peak of a glimpse, the cosmic enormity of the divine exchange--of all how much we've been forgiven and how infinite is His grace--then how can we not worship? How can we not be overflowing with gratitude... and then how can we dare not forgive those who have wronged us--or those we love.
We've who've been forgiven so infinitely much--how can we then not forgive so relatively little?
Of course it's not easy. But the more I focus on myself and my circumstances, the bigger and greater that mountain of my anger... or fear... or worry... or even hatred becomes.
But the more I stare at Christ and the cross, the more He gives me true perspective. Only in focusing upon the forgiving Christ on the cross can we forgive. Only in gazing at the grace of Christ can we extend grace.
Sometimes it means coming back to the cross again and again and again.... not just daily, but perhaps moment by moment. And telling Him--we can't forgive, but He can through us. We can't love--but He can through us. We can't stop worrying and fretting--but He can through us.
I've always loved the song, Jesus, Friend of Sinners, by Casting Crowns. The words are so powerful and express all this so beautifully--
Jesus, friend of sinners, the One who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines and loved like You did.
Oh, Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours
You love every lost cause; You reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
That's me, that's us--we are the lost cause. We are the outcast. We are the grateful lepers at His feet for whom Christ died. O that we might see the infinite, indescribable enormity of what He has done for us. Might the memory of His mercy and grace cause us to fall upon our faces--in joyful wonder and overwhelming gratitude... and then ask Him--in light of His grace, His love, His cross--to empower us to love as He loved. To forgive as He forgave. And to trust as He trusted.
We can't do it--but He can. This grateful leper just has to keep coming back to Him again and again. And He has never turned me away.
To God be the glory.
"The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God's sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope--at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God's grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God's grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin."
Someone asked a probing question about dealing with our very real emotions of fear or anger or even hatred when someone has hurt or disappointed us. Do we suppress our emotions and essentially pretend everything is lovely? Do we stuff our emotions? Do we lash out and release our emotions? And how do we glorify God in these hard, challenging places?
I'm clearly no theologian (understatement of the year), but this is right where we all live, isn't it? How do we forgive the unforgivable or love the unloveable? When I'm feeling wronged, or, what's far more difficult--when someone I love has been wronged-or when I'm just feeling irritated or discouraged, I've found there's only one sure solution--
Cling to the cross. Gaze at His grace.
I love this quote by Tim Keller, because he so clearly expresses our strange, remarkable, and miraculous position--"more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope--at the very same time." We fail to truly grasp our real position--how truly awful our (or my) sins can be and are--our (or my) ugly thoughts, our hateful tendency towards competition and comparison, our refusal to extend true mercy and compassion, our greediness and clench-fisted hold on possessions or people, our failure to speak out and defend the powerless... and on and on.
And then super-imposed upon the extremity of my sin--is the infinite enormity of Christ's grace. The perfect, sinless, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, saw me in all my ugliness and said, "Her, I'll die for her. Father, give her My righteousness and I'll take her hideousness. Make her beautiful in Your sight and give Me her guilt and shame."
That's the divine exchange. And that's why A.W. Tozier can write that at the moment of salvation, "God through Christ turns rebels into worshippers." Because when we glimpse, even if just for a moment, even if it's just a tiny peak of a glimpse, the cosmic enormity of the divine exchange--of all how much we've been forgiven and how infinite is His grace--then how can we not worship? How can we not be overflowing with gratitude... and then how can we dare not forgive those who have wronged us--or those we love.
We've who've been forgiven so infinitely much--how can we then not forgive so relatively little?
Of course it's not easy. But the more I focus on myself and my circumstances, the bigger and greater that mountain of my anger... or fear... or worry... or even hatred becomes.
But the more I stare at Christ and the cross, the more He gives me true perspective. Only in focusing upon the forgiving Christ on the cross can we forgive. Only in gazing at the grace of Christ can we extend grace.
Sometimes it means coming back to the cross again and again and again.... not just daily, but perhaps moment by moment. And telling Him--we can't forgive, but He can through us. We can't love--but He can through us. We can't stop worrying and fretting--but He can through us.
I've always loved the song, Jesus, Friend of Sinners, by Casting Crowns. The words are so powerful and express all this so beautifully--
Jesus, friend of sinners, the One who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines and loved like You did.
Oh, Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours
You love every lost cause; You reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
That's me, that's us--we are the lost cause. We are the outcast. We are the grateful lepers at His feet for whom Christ died. O that we might see the infinite, indescribable enormity of what He has done for us. Might the memory of His mercy and grace cause us to fall upon our faces--in joyful wonder and overwhelming gratitude... and then ask Him--in light of His grace, His love, His cross--to empower us to love as He loved. To forgive as He forgave. And to trust as He trusted.
We can't do it--but He can. This grateful leper just has to keep coming back to Him again and again. And He has never turned me away.
To God be the glory.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
One choice at a time
"Christian character is shaped less by your big, dramatic decisions than by the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of simple obedience. Those small acts shape our character and prepare our hearts to accept even more bold assignments from God. They are the building blocks for a life that God truly blesses. Godliness is both the result and the reward of these mini battles, fought and won dozens of times each day to resist sin and look for ways to make life better for others." Clare De Graff
"Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (I Tim.4:7-8)
Those innumerable, seemingly small and insignificant choices we make each day are slowly, inevitably forming our character. And that character is being built brick by brick into a solid wall of either integrity or dishonesty; discipline or dissipation; strength or weakness. We are either decision by decision, day by day, growing to be more like Jesus or pulling further and further away from Him and His kingdom.
That's where training comes in--like an athlete daily running drills or hitting shot after shot after shot or running hills in the pre-dawn darkness--constant, consistent training in doing what's right and refusing to do what's wrong. And not just in the big, splashy decisions but in the tiny choices about which no one may ever know but God alone.
But it's in those fires of dailyness, daily choices, that our character is forged.
It's funny--we fail to realize the power of the moment, don't we? Sure, hindsight is twenty twenty, but so often in the heat or excitement--or even humdrum--of the moment, we little suspect how this insiginifcant little choice to do something or withhold something or say something or not say something, can have eternal repercussions in our lives. Maybe nothing immediate, but as a book Peter and I read last year, described it, we are all building our "character houses." Some actions add to the house, strengthen it, beautify it... while other actions tear off some boards, damage the siding or even destroy the foundation of our character houses.
So today, I'm asking God to enable me to faithful in the small things. That's all we really have anyway, isn't it? Simple, small obedience in what God has placed right before us. I'm not worrying about what He asks me to do next month or next week. Rather, what has He placed before us right now? Will we heed His still, small voice... today, this minute?
It could mean choosing to take the low place and serving rather than seeking to be served. Or pray before we say... anything! Or being intentional about thanking God for the gift of a regular day--a day without car accidents or cancer or broken bones or hurricanes. And thanking others--even for the smallest kindnesses.
Or refusing to complain--"Do all things without grumbling or questioning" (Phil.2:14). Boy, I have a long way to go on that one--so easy to slip into the grumbling mode--the weather, the wait at the stoplight, our irritable child, our busy schedule... Forgive us Father! Teach us what it means to be Your grateful, non-grumbling, joyful children!
I love how C.S.Lewis puts all this:
"...every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself... Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other."
And it's all our choice... one day at a time. One decision at a time. O Lord, help us to choose wisely.
To God be the glory.
"Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (I Tim.4:7-8)
Those innumerable, seemingly small and insignificant choices we make each day are slowly, inevitably forming our character. And that character is being built brick by brick into a solid wall of either integrity or dishonesty; discipline or dissipation; strength or weakness. We are either decision by decision, day by day, growing to be more like Jesus or pulling further and further away from Him and His kingdom.
That's where training comes in--like an athlete daily running drills or hitting shot after shot after shot or running hills in the pre-dawn darkness--constant, consistent training in doing what's right and refusing to do what's wrong. And not just in the big, splashy decisions but in the tiny choices about which no one may ever know but God alone.
But it's in those fires of dailyness, daily choices, that our character is forged.
It's funny--we fail to realize the power of the moment, don't we? Sure, hindsight is twenty twenty, but so often in the heat or excitement--or even humdrum--of the moment, we little suspect how this insiginifcant little choice to do something or withhold something or say something or not say something, can have eternal repercussions in our lives. Maybe nothing immediate, but as a book Peter and I read last year, described it, we are all building our "character houses." Some actions add to the house, strengthen it, beautify it... while other actions tear off some boards, damage the siding or even destroy the foundation of our character houses.
So today, I'm asking God to enable me to faithful in the small things. That's all we really have anyway, isn't it? Simple, small obedience in what God has placed right before us. I'm not worrying about what He asks me to do next month or next week. Rather, what has He placed before us right now? Will we heed His still, small voice... today, this minute?
It could mean choosing to take the low place and serving rather than seeking to be served. Or pray before we say... anything! Or being intentional about thanking God for the gift of a regular day--a day without car accidents or cancer or broken bones or hurricanes. And thanking others--even for the smallest kindnesses.
Or refusing to complain--"Do all things without grumbling or questioning" (Phil.2:14). Boy, I have a long way to go on that one--so easy to slip into the grumbling mode--the weather, the wait at the stoplight, our irritable child, our busy schedule... Forgive us Father! Teach us what it means to be Your grateful, non-grumbling, joyful children!
I love how C.S.Lewis puts all this:
"...every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself... Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other."
And it's all our choice... one day at a time. One decision at a time. O Lord, help us to choose wisely.
To God be the glory.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
A sprain... and slowing down
"Pride goeth before the fall."
After writing yesterday about inactivity and the importance of walking with Jesus--spiritually and physically--here I sit with my foot propped up and ice on my ankle. Sigh. All due to my rushing and hurrying and not paying attention as I stepped off a curb and turned the daylights out of my ankle. Clearly I am not going to win any coordination awards, and I'm thinking my chances at a turn on "Dancing with the Stars" are fading fast.
But this has been in some ways a needed reminder to sloooooow down. I can be so impatient, so frustrated with the pace of getting things done on my endless to-do list that I fall into the trap of rushing and scurrying through--and past--life. In our haste to "get it all done," we can completely miss the purpose and reason for all we have to do.
Sometimes we need to stop doing and just focus on being.
Cease trying so hard and start treasuring a bit more.
It's not all that we do that gives us worth. It's what He has done that gives us infinite value and purpose.
But if we don't slow down enough to glimpse Him in our day, well, then what's the point? And if we can't quiet our minds and still our frazzled schedules long enough to truly see and enjoy and love the people in our lives, well then, we're just missing it. Missing Him. Missing life. Missing joy. We might be efficient... but not contented. Productive... but not peaceful. Ever striving... but never quite satisfied. Boy, guilty as charged... until a little ankle sprain reminds me of Who's really in charge and what's really important.
So for the first time in several days, old Moses and I have sat down together (well, actually he's doing the usual--laying down... he's got the slow-down thing down pat!) and opened the Word and savored the Savior's manna and quieted down enough to listen for His voice. And I can hear the whoops and hollers of our boys and their friends as they engage in a rousing game of golf frisbee outside. It takes quiet and time to hear their joy--a day ago I would have missed it as I busily rushed about getting things done. How much do I miss, who do I miss, in my busyness and preoccupation? Forgive me Lord.
Tonight, the laundry may remain unfolded, the kitchen still messy, those notes left unwritten, but God has given me something infinitely greater than feeling I'm accomplished... and that's knowing I'm accepted by the Almighty One. And His greatest command is to love. Love Him and love others. So tonight, if I love, truly love, those in this house that He has loaned me for a few short years, well, then that will be one job well done. And He will be gloried... and I will be fully satisfied. Thank You, Lord Jesus!
To God be the glory.
After writing yesterday about inactivity and the importance of walking with Jesus--spiritually and physically--here I sit with my foot propped up and ice on my ankle. Sigh. All due to my rushing and hurrying and not paying attention as I stepped off a curb and turned the daylights out of my ankle. Clearly I am not going to win any coordination awards, and I'm thinking my chances at a turn on "Dancing with the Stars" are fading fast.
But this has been in some ways a needed reminder to sloooooow down. I can be so impatient, so frustrated with the pace of getting things done on my endless to-do list that I fall into the trap of rushing and scurrying through--and past--life. In our haste to "get it all done," we can completely miss the purpose and reason for all we have to do.
Sometimes we need to stop doing and just focus on being.
Cease trying so hard and start treasuring a bit more.
It's not all that we do that gives us worth. It's what He has done that gives us infinite value and purpose.
But if we don't slow down enough to glimpse Him in our day, well, then what's the point? And if we can't quiet our minds and still our frazzled schedules long enough to truly see and enjoy and love the people in our lives, well then, we're just missing it. Missing Him. Missing life. Missing joy. We might be efficient... but not contented. Productive... but not peaceful. Ever striving... but never quite satisfied. Boy, guilty as charged... until a little ankle sprain reminds me of Who's really in charge and what's really important.
So for the first time in several days, old Moses and I have sat down together (well, actually he's doing the usual--laying down... he's got the slow-down thing down pat!) and opened the Word and savored the Savior's manna and quieted down enough to listen for His voice. And I can hear the whoops and hollers of our boys and their friends as they engage in a rousing game of golf frisbee outside. It takes quiet and time to hear their joy--a day ago I would have missed it as I busily rushed about getting things done. How much do I miss, who do I miss, in my busyness and preoccupation? Forgive me Lord.
Tonight, the laundry may remain unfolded, the kitchen still messy, those notes left unwritten, but God has given me something infinitely greater than feeling I'm accomplished... and that's knowing I'm accepted by the Almighty One. And His greatest command is to love. Love Him and love others. So tonight, if I love, truly love, those in this house that He has loaned me for a few short years, well, then that will be one job well done. And He will be gloried... and I will be fully satisfied. Thank You, Lord Jesus!
To God be the glory.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Walk with Jesus
I just read that physical inactivity is the number 4 killer world-wide. Moreover, the average person in Great Britain (and I'm betting it's no better in our country) walks less than 9 minutes a day--and that includes walking to your car, to and fro for work, and for shopping. Good night--less than 9 minutes a day? Unless you are physically disabled, how on earth is is possible to walk less than 9 minutes a day with even just your regular daily activities?! I walk more than 9 minutes a day in my house going in and out of rooms, because I forget why I walked into the room in the first place... and then I later remember and get to walk back in there again... and again. There's obviously something to be said for a crummy memory--it ups your physical activity. See, God can bring good out of anything!
As soon as I read this startling statistic, I immediately thought of a picture my sweet friend, Carson, sent me yesterday. She saw this little country church somewhere on the backroads on the way back from Georgia this weekend and had to stop to take a picture--
(Boy, I hope you can read this! It says, "Exercise Daily--Walk with Jesus")
So in case you're suffering from a bit of physical inactivity--take a walk with Jesus! And if you're afflicted by spiritual inactivity--take a walk with Jesus! And if you're distressed by the blahs or the blues.... or busted dreams or broken hearts--well, maybe it's time to take a walk with Jesus. He's ready and waiting to bring healing and hope as He shines His light into those broken, hurting places in your life.
And if things in your world right now seem to be chugging along merrily--and life is busy and happy and whole--don't neglect taking a walk with Jesus! Now's the time to rejoice with your Gift-Giver, thanking Him for His goodness and grace. He wants to walk with us through all the ups and downs... the hard and hurting places as well as the challenging, joyous, overwhelming, peaceful, and satisfying places.
"Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." (I John2:6)
"Follow Me." (Jesus' command over and over again! For example in John 21:19, 22)
Time for a walk... with Jesus. I can hear His birds singing a welcome chorus. The cool spring air beckons. The lush green trees sway overhead. He's given you a set of lungs to breathe deep and a pair of legs to carry you along and some eyes to witness the glories of spring all around you. And the God of the universe is calling to you, saying, "Hey, are you ready for a little walk? I'm waiting..."
To God be the glory.
As soon as I read this startling statistic, I immediately thought of a picture my sweet friend, Carson, sent me yesterday. She saw this little country church somewhere on the backroads on the way back from Georgia this weekend and had to stop to take a picture--
So in case you're suffering from a bit of physical inactivity--take a walk with Jesus! And if you're afflicted by spiritual inactivity--take a walk with Jesus! And if you're distressed by the blahs or the blues.... or busted dreams or broken hearts--well, maybe it's time to take a walk with Jesus. He's ready and waiting to bring healing and hope as He shines His light into those broken, hurting places in your life.
And if things in your world right now seem to be chugging along merrily--and life is busy and happy and whole--don't neglect taking a walk with Jesus! Now's the time to rejoice with your Gift-Giver, thanking Him for His goodness and grace. He wants to walk with us through all the ups and downs... the hard and hurting places as well as the challenging, joyous, overwhelming, peaceful, and satisfying places.
"Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." (I John2:6)
"Follow Me." (Jesus' command over and over again! For example in John 21:19, 22)
Time for a walk... with Jesus. I can hear His birds singing a welcome chorus. The cool spring air beckons. The lush green trees sway overhead. He's given you a set of lungs to breathe deep and a pair of legs to carry you along and some eyes to witness the glories of spring all around you. And the God of the universe is calling to you, saying, "Hey, are you ready for a little walk? I'm waiting..."
To God be the glory.
Monday, May 13, 2013
One question to ask daily
Just listened to a thought-provoking sermon by J.D. Greer on relationships. And it reminded me afresh that often the main problem we have in life is our selfishness. Selfishness stunts our souls and decays our relationships. Let's face it--we're all pretty selfish creatures who deep down want what we want, when we want it, and just how we want it.
A woman today nearly ran us down in the car as she flew down the street... and then had the audacity to honk at us! I guess she was irritated that our presence had somehow slowed her down...and her obviously very important agenda.
But my momentary aggravation quickly gave way to conviction: Can't this so often reflect my attitude? Wrapped in my pride and my selfish to-do list, distractions and interruptions can become a source of great irritation. Before you know it, in my hurry and haste to get things done for the people I love, I have jettisoned that very love! Even in our work for the Lord, we can suddenly find ourselves adrift in resentment and bitterness if we forget Who we are serving, why we are serving, and how we should be serving.
We serve others out of reverence for Christ. We're not serving them... we're serving Him. And He is worthy.
He who created the heavens and earth washed filthy feet. What job could possibly be beneath us? The One who sustains the universe by the power of His name, willingly submitted to the beatings and butchery of His crucifiers. The Bread of Life and the Living Water served bread and fish to the hungry rabble. If He served--and served with joy--how can we do any less? Not just serve, but serve with a willing, joyful attitude.
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." (Col.3:23-24)
Whether we are changing diapers, studying for an exam, cooking a meal, running errands, filing papers, cleaning out clutter, or handling irate customers--we are doing it for Jesus. Might we see His face superimposed on the faces of those we serve and love. He sees every nameless, thankless task we do each day... and He is pleased when we do it with excellence and to His glory and with His love.
So here's the question J.D. Greer challenged his listeners to ask each day in their significant relationships. "What can I do to serve you today?" Yes, so counter-intuitive in our meet-my-needs-now world. But it's the way of grace, the way of Jesus. Not how much can you do for me or how can you meet my needs or here's all the ways you have failed me... but what can I do to serve you today?
"The gospel secret," Greer explained, is what Jesus did on the cross: "to absorb sin and give grace... We change others not by paying them back or getting even...Instead, the gospel secret is that grace is the most powerful change agent in the world."
God changed us not by threatening and berating us but by pouring out His totally unmerited grace upon us at the cross. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom.5:8) When I consider what Christ did, His infinite love, His amazing grace--while I was yet a selfish sinner--how can I not serve willingly and love joyfully those He has placed in my path? What amount of our love and service could be too much for Him who served and loved and gave so infinitely, so perfectly for us?
If the Gospel of grace changes us, then it is the Gospel of Christ's grace in our homes, in our marriages, in our schools, and in our workplaces that will regenerate and rejuvenate and restore that which is lost or damaged or broken. Grace that says daily to my husband, "What can I do to serve you today?" And to my children. And to my extended family. And to my friends. And to my Savior.
So this week, by the grace of God, I'm going to make a start by asking the people in my home at least once daily: "What can I do to serve you?" And then listen and respond.... and try, by His grace, not to do it through gritted teeth! Or with a scorecard in hand. But just as one available to serve as my Savior served and love as my Savior Lord. For it's all by His grace, and all for His glory.
To God--the Almighty Lord who came to serve and love--be all the glory.
A woman today nearly ran us down in the car as she flew down the street... and then had the audacity to honk at us! I guess she was irritated that our presence had somehow slowed her down...and her obviously very important agenda.
But my momentary aggravation quickly gave way to conviction: Can't this so often reflect my attitude? Wrapped in my pride and my selfish to-do list, distractions and interruptions can become a source of great irritation. Before you know it, in my hurry and haste to get things done for the people I love, I have jettisoned that very love! Even in our work for the Lord, we can suddenly find ourselves adrift in resentment and bitterness if we forget Who we are serving, why we are serving, and how we should be serving.
We serve others out of reverence for Christ. We're not serving them... we're serving Him. And He is worthy.
He who created the heavens and earth washed filthy feet. What job could possibly be beneath us? The One who sustains the universe by the power of His name, willingly submitted to the beatings and butchery of His crucifiers. The Bread of Life and the Living Water served bread and fish to the hungry rabble. If He served--and served with joy--how can we do any less? Not just serve, but serve with a willing, joyful attitude.
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." (Col.3:23-24)
Whether we are changing diapers, studying for an exam, cooking a meal, running errands, filing papers, cleaning out clutter, or handling irate customers--we are doing it for Jesus. Might we see His face superimposed on the faces of those we serve and love. He sees every nameless, thankless task we do each day... and He is pleased when we do it with excellence and to His glory and with His love.
So here's the question J.D. Greer challenged his listeners to ask each day in their significant relationships. "What can I do to serve you today?" Yes, so counter-intuitive in our meet-my-needs-now world. But it's the way of grace, the way of Jesus. Not how much can you do for me or how can you meet my needs or here's all the ways you have failed me... but what can I do to serve you today?
"The gospel secret," Greer explained, is what Jesus did on the cross: "to absorb sin and give grace... We change others not by paying them back or getting even...Instead, the gospel secret is that grace is the most powerful change agent in the world."
God changed us not by threatening and berating us but by pouring out His totally unmerited grace upon us at the cross. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom.5:8) When I consider what Christ did, His infinite love, His amazing grace--while I was yet a selfish sinner--how can I not serve willingly and love joyfully those He has placed in my path? What amount of our love and service could be too much for Him who served and loved and gave so infinitely, so perfectly for us?
If the Gospel of grace changes us, then it is the Gospel of Christ's grace in our homes, in our marriages, in our schools, and in our workplaces that will regenerate and rejuvenate and restore that which is lost or damaged or broken. Grace that says daily to my husband, "What can I do to serve you today?" And to my children. And to my extended family. And to my friends. And to my Savior.
So this week, by the grace of God, I'm going to make a start by asking the people in my home at least once daily: "What can I do to serve you?" And then listen and respond.... and try, by His grace, not to do it through gritted teeth! Or with a scorecard in hand. But just as one available to serve as my Savior served and love as my Savior Lord. For it's all by His grace, and all for His glory.
To God--the Almighty Lord who came to serve and love--be all the glory.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The 10 Second Rule
A little food for weekend thought:
"If you love Me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)
Pretty straightforward stuff. It's the follow-through that's tough... and sometimes a bit frightening. But we all obey someone or something--our own selfish imposes, the pull and call of the world, the admiration of others... or the Lord who loves us.
Rick Warren put it this way: "Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego."
And so I've been challenged the past few days by the words of Clare De Graaf, author of The 10 Second Rule. And here is the essence of the 10 second rule: "Just do the next thing you're reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do (and commit to it immediately--in the next 10 seconds--before you change your mind)."
Sometimes this may mean something as simple as stopping your power walk, stooping down and picking up that piece of trash someone dropped on the greenway. Sure, it's not your trash... but if somehow you sense this faint quick voice that tells you to stop and pick it up, don't ignore that still, small voice. Just do it. Silly perhaps, but God doesn't despise the small details of our lives.
I admit it--I can be a master of justification for ignoring His voice. No--it's so easy to think--we don't have time to do whatever that voice puts into our heads that we sense is God's will. We're too busy, or too tired or too short-tempered or, frankly, too lazy. But when He calls--His sometimes gentle, quiet voice speaking to us--will we listen and then obey... in those next 10 seconds?
It may mean stopping the chores to go read with our child. Setting aside our to-do list to write that note of encouragement to a struggling friend. Giving away something we really want to clutch with both hands. Forsaking the urgent for the important.
And sometimes it costs us. In fact, it almost always costs us--in time or money or convenience or perhaps even reputation. But isn't that what taking up our cross and following Jesus is all about?
The great Olympian runner, Eric Liddell once wrote: "Have you learned to hear God's voice saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it?' Have you learned to obey? Do you realize the tremendous issues that may be at stake?"
And later Liddell wrote: "If I know something to be true, am I prepared to follow it even though it is contrary to what I want?... Will I follow if it means being laughed at by friend or foe, of if it means personal financial loss or some kind of hardship?"
Liddell knew whereof he spoke. He's the one who relinquished his spot to run in the 100 meter run (his best event and he was the favorite for gold) at the 1924 Olympics, because one of the heats would be run on a sunday. And Liddell stunned the world again when after winning gold in a different event (that was not one he normally excelled in), he relinquished his running career in order to become a missionary in China. He would eventually die in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. His obedience cost Liddell greatly... and it honored God mightily.
I say all this to challenge us--beginning with yours truly--will we obey? Just simple, immediate obedience... beginning with "the 10 second rule." I'm asking God to enable me to start there--to obey even those simplest, smallest urges I believe He has placed before me. And then watch what happens.
To God be the glory.
"If you love Me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)
Pretty straightforward stuff. It's the follow-through that's tough... and sometimes a bit frightening. But we all obey someone or something--our own selfish imposes, the pull and call of the world, the admiration of others... or the Lord who loves us.
Rick Warren put it this way: "Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego."
And so I've been challenged the past few days by the words of Clare De Graaf, author of The 10 Second Rule. And here is the essence of the 10 second rule: "Just do the next thing you're reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do (and commit to it immediately--in the next 10 seconds--before you change your mind)."
Sometimes this may mean something as simple as stopping your power walk, stooping down and picking up that piece of trash someone dropped on the greenway. Sure, it's not your trash... but if somehow you sense this faint quick voice that tells you to stop and pick it up, don't ignore that still, small voice. Just do it. Silly perhaps, but God doesn't despise the small details of our lives.
I admit it--I can be a master of justification for ignoring His voice. No--it's so easy to think--we don't have time to do whatever that voice puts into our heads that we sense is God's will. We're too busy, or too tired or too short-tempered or, frankly, too lazy. But when He calls--His sometimes gentle, quiet voice speaking to us--will we listen and then obey... in those next 10 seconds?
It may mean stopping the chores to go read with our child. Setting aside our to-do list to write that note of encouragement to a struggling friend. Giving away something we really want to clutch with both hands. Forsaking the urgent for the important.
And sometimes it costs us. In fact, it almost always costs us--in time or money or convenience or perhaps even reputation. But isn't that what taking up our cross and following Jesus is all about?
The great Olympian runner, Eric Liddell once wrote: "Have you learned to hear God's voice saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it?' Have you learned to obey? Do you realize the tremendous issues that may be at stake?"
And later Liddell wrote: "If I know something to be true, am I prepared to follow it even though it is contrary to what I want?... Will I follow if it means being laughed at by friend or foe, of if it means personal financial loss or some kind of hardship?"
Liddell knew whereof he spoke. He's the one who relinquished his spot to run in the 100 meter run (his best event and he was the favorite for gold) at the 1924 Olympics, because one of the heats would be run on a sunday. And Liddell stunned the world again when after winning gold in a different event (that was not one he normally excelled in), he relinquished his running career in order to become a missionary in China. He would eventually die in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. His obedience cost Liddell greatly... and it honored God mightily.
I say all this to challenge us--beginning with yours truly--will we obey? Just simple, immediate obedience... beginning with "the 10 second rule." I'm asking God to enable me to start there--to obey even those simplest, smallest urges I believe He has placed before me. And then watch what happens.
To God be the glory.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Perseverance of the saints...and Moms!
This is what I wrote about on March 15:
Yes, we are quite the gardeners around here. At the time of this picture, I knew this pile of brown, ugly, straw-like debris would eventually be transformed into a beautiful green flower. (I've forgotten the name again even though my dear friend and excellent gardener, Nancy, told me what it was!). Yes, I knew this dead pile of mess could and should one day grow into something lovely and living... but still, nothing much happened for an awfully long time. And you begin to second-guess and doubt... and grow weary with waiting.
Sometimes, I feel like this as a mom. Like this ugly, dead tangle of brush--desiccated, defeated, discouraged. Do you ever know the feeling? Maybe one of your children has messed up... or maybe you've messed up... or maybe life has just messed up. And here's our (or at least my) tendency: I begin to worry and doubt and fret. "What on earth? Will I never figure this thing out? I must be a terrible, awful mom." Weariness in the battles of life can make cowards of us all.
But here's what God's never-failing Word just reminded me: "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Gal.6:9)
Sometimes we moms--well, frankly all of us whether we are moms or not--just need to be reminded; Don't give up! Sure, it can be tough. The battles of life can be long and frustrating and demoralizing at times. But we do not fight them alone. Never ever alone.
Colossians puts it this way: "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." (Col.1:11-12)
It's His strength that enables us to persevere in His power. It's His might that equips us to be patient and transforms our discouragement into joy. It's His joy--His glorious, malaise-shattering joy even in the midst of our sometimes long, heavy slogs through parenthood... or whatever challenges you may be facing in life.
And we can and must choose to continually "give thanks to the Father who has qualified you"--He is the Qualifier of weary moms... and discouraged students... and fearful fathers... and worn out caregivers... and battle-fatigued believers.
We choose to daily, hourly, thank our Supernatural Qualifier. O the power of thanksgiving in the midst of the battles!
We can persevere in faith and joy as moms--or wherever Almighty God has placed us--because it's HIS strength and might and patience and joy and hope and love and resurrection power which He pours into and through us.
It's all Him, and He is the One who qualifies us.
And here's our part--to persevere and refuse to give up. To just keep going to Him again and again: asking for His thirst-quenching, joy-filling, heart-revitalizing, energy-restoring, hope-renewing resurrection power to do whatever He's called us to do this day, this hour, this minute. And then go to Him for the next moment...and the next... and the next. Trusting that He'll provide and do what we can't. That He'll do the impossible. And that one day we will reap a harvest if we. do. not. give. up.
This is what God can do when we refuse to give up. Same place; same plant--six weeks later.
Beauty from ashes.
Like I said, I'm no gardener. God did this completely, 100% all by His own Perfect, All-powerful Self. We did nothing for these flowers save persevere in hope that, despite all evidence to the contrary, if we refused to give up, God would give us a harvest of beauty.
And He did.
And He always does. Sometimes it just takes a while. Ah, but the wait and the perseverance makes it all the sweeter and more satisfying in the end.
So Happy Mother's day to all you wonderful Moms out there! It can be tough, can't it? But our God is working and moving. And He's the One who can and will do all the reviving and resurrecting and equipping and filling and strengthening. We just need to depend upon Him and ask Him to enable us to keep on doing good and refuse to give up.
'Cause the harvest is coming. He's promised.
To the God of all perseverance and strength and joy and grace be all the glory.
Sometimes, I feel like this as a mom. Like this ugly, dead tangle of brush--desiccated, defeated, discouraged. Do you ever know the feeling? Maybe one of your children has messed up... or maybe you've messed up... or maybe life has just messed up. And here's our (or at least my) tendency: I begin to worry and doubt and fret. "What on earth? Will I never figure this thing out? I must be a terrible, awful mom." Weariness in the battles of life can make cowards of us all.
But here's what God's never-failing Word just reminded me: "And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Gal.6:9)
Sometimes we moms--well, frankly all of us whether we are moms or not--just need to be reminded; Don't give up! Sure, it can be tough. The battles of life can be long and frustrating and demoralizing at times. But we do not fight them alone. Never ever alone.
Colossians puts it this way: "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." (Col.1:11-12)
It's His strength that enables us to persevere in His power. It's His might that equips us to be patient and transforms our discouragement into joy. It's His joy--His glorious, malaise-shattering joy even in the midst of our sometimes long, heavy slogs through parenthood... or whatever challenges you may be facing in life.
And we can and must choose to continually "give thanks to the Father who has qualified you"--He is the Qualifier of weary moms... and discouraged students... and fearful fathers... and worn out caregivers... and battle-fatigued believers.
We choose to daily, hourly, thank our Supernatural Qualifier. O the power of thanksgiving in the midst of the battles!
We can persevere in faith and joy as moms--or wherever Almighty God has placed us--because it's HIS strength and might and patience and joy and hope and love and resurrection power which He pours into and through us.
It's all Him, and He is the One who qualifies us.
And here's our part--to persevere and refuse to give up. To just keep going to Him again and again: asking for His thirst-quenching, joy-filling, heart-revitalizing, energy-restoring, hope-renewing resurrection power to do whatever He's called us to do this day, this hour, this minute. And then go to Him for the next moment...and the next... and the next. Trusting that He'll provide and do what we can't. That He'll do the impossible. And that one day we will reap a harvest if we. do. not. give. up.
Beauty from ashes.
Like I said, I'm no gardener. God did this completely, 100% all by His own Perfect, All-powerful Self. We did nothing for these flowers save persevere in hope that, despite all evidence to the contrary, if we refused to give up, God would give us a harvest of beauty.
And He did.
And He always does. Sometimes it just takes a while. Ah, but the wait and the perseverance makes it all the sweeter and more satisfying in the end.
So Happy Mother's day to all you wonderful Moms out there! It can be tough, can't it? But our God is working and moving. And He's the One who can and will do all the reviving and resurrecting and equipping and filling and strengthening. We just need to depend upon Him and ask Him to enable us to keep on doing good and refuse to give up.
'Cause the harvest is coming. He's promised.
To the God of all perseverance and strength and joy and grace be all the glory.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Throw-back. Thank. Trust.
I don't do "Instagram." In fact, I don't even know if I spelled that correctly. But I understand from my tech-savy kids that today is "Throw-back Thursday" in which people send out an old picture on Instagram (whatever that is exactly!). So just to prove that you can teach an ancient, over-the-hill dog new tricks, here's my version of Instagram--only without the Instagram, the smartphone, and whatever else you need for whatever Instagram actually is.
Because even if it's the low-tech, fake, old dog version, sometimes it's really good to have a "throwback thursday" to remember God's faithfulness in the past... and trust He will not fail us in the future. So here's where we were on Labor Day, about 8 months ago:
I needed to be reminded of what it feels like to have hope in little else but the Almighty.
And maybe by our limited physical sight, things at the time looked overwhelming, even desperately hopeless.
But not with our God.
No, not ever with the Omniscient Omnipotent I Am.
He knows the end from the beginning, and on that dark day, He foresaw this bright day when Janie would be picking up her high school cap and gown for graduation. And she'd be singing again. And laughing again. And, sometimes, fussing again!
Our Lord is not bound by any "odds" or hampered by difficulties or discourage by setbacks or frustrated by failures in His people. Nope, He's God. Enough said.
I loved this prayer I read the other day from Scotty Smith: "Gracious Father, there are times when the 'odds' feel quite stacked against us, as your people... But just when I begin to retreat into a basement of fear or question your concern and faithfulness, once again you open the eyes of my heart and show me the way things really are... the way of the Gospel will always be strength in weakness, the transforming treasure of the gospel in fragile clay pots, like us. It was three hundred poorly armed soldiers, not thirty-four thousand fighting men, You sent with Gideon to defeat the Midianite army. Jesse's youngest son, David, a young shepherd, was Your choice to be king of Israel. Most profoundly, it was the crucifixion of Jesus, not an insurrection of zealots, that won our salvation. Father, the odds are never really stacked against your covenant purposes and your transforming kingdom. You're not 'trying' to do anything. You never have to resort to plan B. You never hedge your bets. You are God and there is no other."
Maybe no one else out there needed reminding of this today, but I always do--slow learner that I am.
No matter what it may look like in your life right now: God is in control. He is superintending all the events in your life for your greater good and His greater glory. He has no plan B--it's always His Perfect Plan that cannot be thwarted. Period.
"And we know that for those who love God, ALL things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Not "most" things. Not "nearly all" things. Not the "positive" or "good" or "successful" things. ALL ALL ALL things. This word in the Greek means...
ALL, as in, God takes every cotton-picking thing in our lives--the good, bad, indifferent, confusing, frustrating, worrisome, troubling, terrible--and supernaturally combines and transforms them ALL into something good and beautiful and ultimately glorious.
All things--not my words. His. Do we believe it?
Sometimes it helps to take a little "throwback thursday" to recall His faithfulness to us in the past when things looked awfully discouraging or even desperate. He did it before. He will do it again...and again. Because that's who He is--the God who never fails, whose compassion never fails, and whose faithfulness never fails to extend into eternity and beyond.
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, said my soul; therefore will I hope in Him." (Lam.3:22-24)
So today, might we take a "throw-back thursday" and recall His goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy, and His grace to us in the past. Then tell Him thank You. And trust Him to do it again... and again... and again...all the way till He takes us home.
Throw-back. Thank. Trust. That's the formula to soothe a troubled soul and heal a harried heart.
To God--our forever faithful, Trust-worthy One--be all the glory.
Because even if it's the low-tech, fake, old dog version, sometimes it's really good to have a "throwback thursday" to remember God's faithfulness in the past... and trust He will not fail us in the future. So here's where we were on Labor Day, about 8 months ago:
And maybe by our limited physical sight, things at the time looked overwhelming, even desperately hopeless.
But not with our God.
No, not ever with the Omniscient Omnipotent I Am.
He knows the end from the beginning, and on that dark day, He foresaw this bright day when Janie would be picking up her high school cap and gown for graduation. And she'd be singing again. And laughing again. And, sometimes, fussing again!
Our Lord is not bound by any "odds" or hampered by difficulties or discourage by setbacks or frustrated by failures in His people. Nope, He's God. Enough said.
I loved this prayer I read the other day from Scotty Smith: "Gracious Father, there are times when the 'odds' feel quite stacked against us, as your people... But just when I begin to retreat into a basement of fear or question your concern and faithfulness, once again you open the eyes of my heart and show me the way things really are... the way of the Gospel will always be strength in weakness, the transforming treasure of the gospel in fragile clay pots, like us. It was three hundred poorly armed soldiers, not thirty-four thousand fighting men, You sent with Gideon to defeat the Midianite army. Jesse's youngest son, David, a young shepherd, was Your choice to be king of Israel. Most profoundly, it was the crucifixion of Jesus, not an insurrection of zealots, that won our salvation. Father, the odds are never really stacked against your covenant purposes and your transforming kingdom. You're not 'trying' to do anything. You never have to resort to plan B. You never hedge your bets. You are God and there is no other."
Maybe no one else out there needed reminding of this today, but I always do--slow learner that I am.
No matter what it may look like in your life right now: God is in control. He is superintending all the events in your life for your greater good and His greater glory. He has no plan B--it's always His Perfect Plan that cannot be thwarted. Period.
"And we know that for those who love God, ALL things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Not "most" things. Not "nearly all" things. Not the "positive" or "good" or "successful" things. ALL ALL ALL things. This word in the Greek means...
ALL, as in, God takes every cotton-picking thing in our lives--the good, bad, indifferent, confusing, frustrating, worrisome, troubling, terrible--and supernaturally combines and transforms them ALL into something good and beautiful and ultimately glorious.
All things--not my words. His. Do we believe it?
Sometimes it helps to take a little "throwback thursday" to recall His faithfulness to us in the past when things looked awfully discouraging or even desperate. He did it before. He will do it again...and again. Because that's who He is--the God who never fails, whose compassion never fails, and whose faithfulness never fails to extend into eternity and beyond.
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, said my soul; therefore will I hope in Him." (Lam.3:22-24)
So today, might we take a "throw-back thursday" and recall His goodness, His faithfulness, His mercy, and His grace to us in the past. Then tell Him thank You. And trust Him to do it again... and again... and again...all the way till He takes us home.
Throw-back. Thank. Trust. That's the formula to soothe a troubled soul and heal a harried heart.
To God--our forever faithful, Trust-worthy One--be all the glory.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Sun returns!
Yesterday's downpours have led to today's SUN and warmth and beauty. O boy, it was all worth it-- all that rain and mush and gloominess--if it could lead to this. This spectacular day of blue and brightness and lush green surrounding us at every turn. Trees, flowers, grass, all celebrating the arrival of spring and warmth and, did I mention?, SUN! Thank You Lord!
Now, I know full well the forecast calls for more English weather ahead, but that's okay, because all we needed was a little reminder, a little hint that the old sun is still shining above us even when we can't see it or feel it. And if we have to endure some rough patches of weather--as in life--well, these too shall pass.
It's just as true as the day King Solomon wrote it thousands of years ago: "For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." (Song of Sol.2:11-12)
So the time for folding laundry and answering emails and cleaning up has past for the moment... Moses and I had to come outside and have a little quiet time. That's him resting--okay, soundly snoozing and snoring--in the glorious warmth and light. And this is me, writing and rejoicing in the goodness and never-failing faithfulness of our God.
The rains in life will come. Sometimes downpours of sorrow. Sometimes drizzles of irritation. Sometimes thick clouds of discouragement or defeat.
But the sun always returns. The sun is still there, always there. Always over our world and ready to reassert it's life-giving, joy-promoting light and warmth. Sometimes we just have to wait and trust--the sun's still there and it's coming.
And so, too, our Son. We may sometimes wonder where He is or when He will show up again. But He's there. Trust me, He's always there. Always in control--even when we cannot see Him or feel Him. And one day soon, the clouds and rain and drizzle will pass, and He will make all things bright and new and beautiful. In His time. In His perfect time. But in the meantime, He gives us sneak peaks of His glory--and so we rejoice and remember and thank our glorious SON.
To God be the glory.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Awe at the greater miracle!
"This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (John 11:4)
"When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered them, 'Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Rise and walk?" But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'--He said to the man who was paralyzed--'I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.' And immediately he rose up from before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. and amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen extraordinary things today.'" (Luke 5:22-26)
Yesterday, OneVoice, the singing group Janie has the privilege to be a part of, sang at Providence Baptist Church (More on that another day!) It was a WOW day. So beautiful and such a gift to hear not only the girls all singing together (and they sounded wonderful) but then to hear Dave Owen's sermon on the healing of the paralytic from Luke 5.
Remember the story? Four friends carry their paralyzed buddy on a stretcher, cut a hole in the roof of a house, and lower their friend in front of Jesus... all because they had faith that Jesus was the answer. And He was... and is.
But what they didn't realize is that the Savior was the answer to a much deeper and far greater problem than paralysis of the body--He can heal paralysis of the soul. Only Jesus, only Jesus has the power to forgive sin--mankind's most desperate need. It is sin that destroys families, peace, hope, and joy. It is sin that separates us forever from the perfect, holy God who made us and loves us. It is sin that creates and feeds guilt and hate and fear and addiction and worry and regret and despair and loneliness and war.
Of course Jesus has the power to heal bodies. He can raise the dead and restore sight and repair limbs
... and heal damaged brains of teenaged girls. We have seen Him do the impossible firsthand. I will never doubt the omnipotent power of our Sovereign Lord to do the unimaginable and unthinkable.
But more importantly, these kinds of healings are for one purpose--to show forth the glory of Almighty God so that we will see Him high and lifted up and capable of not only healing our bodies, but infinitely more importantly, of healing and restoring our souls.
I love how Dave O. put it: "Jesus is showing that our deepest need is not to be able to walk again but to be born again.... Jesus did the miracle which they could see that they may know that He had done the greater miracle which they could not see."
Dave O. quoted Tim Keller on this. And he said something to the effect that we love to rejoice over the miracle which we can see, but the point of the miracle is not to show us Jesus will meet all our physical needs. The point is to show us that Christ can meet all our spiritual needs.
All this is to say, we should be constantly amazed by the stupendously miraculous work of the gospel that saves to the uttermost all who come to Jesus by faith! Yes, we praise the Lord for His miraculous work on this planet in healing and restoring broken bodies. May I never ever grow immune to the wonder and amazement and joy over His miraculous healing of Janie! To God be the glory over and over and over again!
But may our awe move us to see His infinitely greater work in coming to this broken and hopeless planet to save and redeem sinners. Might His grace--His truly amazing, remarkable, beautiful, perfect, and scandalous grace--move us to amazement every single day. He saves the sick: sometimes--in His mercy and by His sovereign plan--physically... but always spiritually. And that is the greater deliverance.
If Jesus is your Savior, then you are a miracle. Live today in the astounding wonder that He chose to heal you spiritually. Might we all stay amazed at our amazing Lord! He is worthy!
To God be the glory.
"When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered them, 'Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Rise and walk?" But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'--He said to the man who was paralyzed--'I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.' And immediately he rose up from before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. and amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen extraordinary things today.'" (Luke 5:22-26)
Yesterday, OneVoice, the singing group Janie has the privilege to be a part of, sang at Providence Baptist Church (More on that another day!) It was a WOW day. So beautiful and such a gift to hear not only the girls all singing together (and they sounded wonderful) but then to hear Dave Owen's sermon on the healing of the paralytic from Luke 5.
Remember the story? Four friends carry their paralyzed buddy on a stretcher, cut a hole in the roof of a house, and lower their friend in front of Jesus... all because they had faith that Jesus was the answer. And He was... and is.
But what they didn't realize is that the Savior was the answer to a much deeper and far greater problem than paralysis of the body--He can heal paralysis of the soul. Only Jesus, only Jesus has the power to forgive sin--mankind's most desperate need. It is sin that destroys families, peace, hope, and joy. It is sin that separates us forever from the perfect, holy God who made us and loves us. It is sin that creates and feeds guilt and hate and fear and addiction and worry and regret and despair and loneliness and war.
Of course Jesus has the power to heal bodies. He can raise the dead and restore sight and repair limbs
... and heal damaged brains of teenaged girls. We have seen Him do the impossible firsthand. I will never doubt the omnipotent power of our Sovereign Lord to do the unimaginable and unthinkable.
But more importantly, these kinds of healings are for one purpose--to show forth the glory of Almighty God so that we will see Him high and lifted up and capable of not only healing our bodies, but infinitely more importantly, of healing and restoring our souls.
I love how Dave O. put it: "Jesus is showing that our deepest need is not to be able to walk again but to be born again.... Jesus did the miracle which they could see that they may know that He had done the greater miracle which they could not see."
Dave O. quoted Tim Keller on this. And he said something to the effect that we love to rejoice over the miracle which we can see, but the point of the miracle is not to show us Jesus will meet all our physical needs. The point is to show us that Christ can meet all our spiritual needs.
All this is to say, we should be constantly amazed by the stupendously miraculous work of the gospel that saves to the uttermost all who come to Jesus by faith! Yes, we praise the Lord for His miraculous work on this planet in healing and restoring broken bodies. May I never ever grow immune to the wonder and amazement and joy over His miraculous healing of Janie! To God be the glory over and over and over again!
But may our awe move us to see His infinitely greater work in coming to this broken and hopeless planet to save and redeem sinners. Might His grace--His truly amazing, remarkable, beautiful, perfect, and scandalous grace--move us to amazement every single day. He saves the sick: sometimes--in His mercy and by His sovereign plan--physically... but always spiritually. And that is the greater deliverance.
If Jesus is your Savior, then you are a miracle. Live today in the astounding wonder that He chose to heal you spiritually. Might we all stay amazed at our amazing Lord! He is worthy!
To God be the glory.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Past blessings...future blessings
Hope they won't kill me, but this is from the bridesmaids' luncheon for the daughter of one of my dearest friends.
McKinley (2nd from the right) got married two weeks ago today--and beside her are her two beautiful sisters and equally beautiful mama. And later today, the daughter of another dear friend is getting married.
All of this reason for JOY and celebration! But also amazement--where did the time go? I can see McKinley right now as a preschooler. She loved to walk on her tippy toes and ate sandwiches with nothing but mustard on them. And then there's Blair. She's getting married today. Well, she should still be a tiny, precious twin girl, always flanking her identical sister and trying to keep up with her big brother. And then there's the daughter of another very dear friend whose wedding will be coming in August. Sweet Caroline used to spend the night with us and always wanted a light on in the bedroom.
Not to mention my daughter's graduation from high school in June. Who would have thought it? Who would have dreamed it? Back in that ICU as she lay unconscious, and us told to expect feeding tubes and wheelchairs for life--and here she is about to graduate and go to college in the fall?
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory..." (Eph.3:20-1)
All these happy transitions are wonderful. Simply wonderful.
But still--where did the years go? When did we say goodbye to the endless diapers and the little pink bows and Goodnight Moon and ballet classes and naptimes and balloons at Harris Teeter and kick the can games? What happened to the legos and sticks made into guns and cinnamon toast for breakfast?
It's easy to become melancholy if you consider what has come and gone. But that's clearly the wrong way to see it. No! It's the joy of all that God has given us in our lives--so much fullness of love of family and friends. Stop focusing on what is gone and instead fix your eyes upon all that God has done and is doing in your life.
We choose our focus and that focus determines whether we will feel bitter or blessed.
Dr. Suess once wrote: "Don't cry that it's over; smile because it happened." I love that.
I recently read Ann Voskamp's words: "You don't always get always. You get awe."
And "If you don't take it all as a gift, you end up taking it all for granted--which amounts to not taking anything from life at all."
We are none of us promised tomorrow. Nor tonight. Nor even the next hour.
But, as believers, we are promised that He who gave Himself for us, will be with us forever, even to the ends of the earth. We are promised His strength and joy and peace and hope and love on this journey of life. We are promised eternal, abundant Life. We are promised His perfect peace and presence and power. And we are promised, through the gift of His Holy Spirit, that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
So today, I choose not to cry that my children are growing up and away... I choose to smile and rejoice that it has happened. I choose to laugh at the crazy, extravagant gift of my husband, my children, my siblings and family, my dear friends. Who could have dreamed or imagined that God would give me the gift of such extraordinary people in my life?! Who could deserve such joyful extravagance of love? Certainly not this sinner saved by grace.
But that's it, isn't it? Grace. All by grace.
And so we smile that it happened. These friends. This family. This busy, unpredictable, ever changing life. These weddings. These graduations. These losses and gains.
"Consider what great things He has done for you." (I Sam.12:24)
We may not have always... but we have awe at His goodness and grace. And so we rejoice at His gifts and trust that He has our tomorrows in His hands of blessing.
To God be the glory.
McKinley (2nd from the right) got married two weeks ago today--and beside her are her two beautiful sisters and equally beautiful mama. And later today, the daughter of another dear friend is getting married.
All of this reason for JOY and celebration! But also amazement--where did the time go? I can see McKinley right now as a preschooler. She loved to walk on her tippy toes and ate sandwiches with nothing but mustard on them. And then there's Blair. She's getting married today. Well, she should still be a tiny, precious twin girl, always flanking her identical sister and trying to keep up with her big brother. And then there's the daughter of another very dear friend whose wedding will be coming in August. Sweet Caroline used to spend the night with us and always wanted a light on in the bedroom.
Not to mention my daughter's graduation from high school in June. Who would have thought it? Who would have dreamed it? Back in that ICU as she lay unconscious, and us told to expect feeding tubes and wheelchairs for life--and here she is about to graduate and go to college in the fall?
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory..." (Eph.3:20-1)
All these happy transitions are wonderful. Simply wonderful.
But still--where did the years go? When did we say goodbye to the endless diapers and the little pink bows and Goodnight Moon and ballet classes and naptimes and balloons at Harris Teeter and kick the can games? What happened to the legos and sticks made into guns and cinnamon toast for breakfast?
It's easy to become melancholy if you consider what has come and gone. But that's clearly the wrong way to see it. No! It's the joy of all that God has given us in our lives--so much fullness of love of family and friends. Stop focusing on what is gone and instead fix your eyes upon all that God has done and is doing in your life.
We choose our focus and that focus determines whether we will feel bitter or blessed.
Dr. Suess once wrote: "Don't cry that it's over; smile because it happened." I love that.
I recently read Ann Voskamp's words: "You don't always get always. You get awe."
And "If you don't take it all as a gift, you end up taking it all for granted--which amounts to not taking anything from life at all."
We are none of us promised tomorrow. Nor tonight. Nor even the next hour.
But, as believers, we are promised that He who gave Himself for us, will be with us forever, even to the ends of the earth. We are promised His strength and joy and peace and hope and love on this journey of life. We are promised eternal, abundant Life. We are promised His perfect peace and presence and power. And we are promised, through the gift of His Holy Spirit, that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
So today, I choose not to cry that my children are growing up and away... I choose to smile and rejoice that it has happened. I choose to laugh at the crazy, extravagant gift of my husband, my children, my siblings and family, my dear friends. Who could have dreamed or imagined that God would give me the gift of such extraordinary people in my life?! Who could deserve such joyful extravagance of love? Certainly not this sinner saved by grace.
But that's it, isn't it? Grace. All by grace.
And so we smile that it happened. These friends. This family. This busy, unpredictable, ever changing life. These weddings. These graduations. These losses and gains.
"Consider what great things He has done for you." (I Sam.12:24)
We may not have always... but we have awe at His goodness and grace. And so we rejoice at His gifts and trust that He has our tomorrows in His hands of blessing.
To God be the glory.
Friday, May 3, 2013
A song in the midst of sorrow
"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You, my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; He will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send His steadfast love and His faithfulness. My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts...They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down...My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You, O Lord, among the nations." (Ps.57)
What a reminder of the gift of music. The Bible tells us over and over again to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" and to sing His praises. But I especially love this Psalm's reminder that we can and should sing God's praises not just when life is sunny and bright, but right in the midst of hardship or uncertainty or even sorrow. We don't do it by feeling... we do it by faith.
Psalm 57 was written when David was fleeing for his life from King Saul. The powerful King of Israel was relentlessly pursuing David and had tried repeatedly to kill him. Now David sat huddled in a dark cave, surely feeling as if the world was closing around him and he had no way out--and yet David writes this Psalm. He acknowledges overwhelming danger and fear--but he goes on to proclaim that "I WILL give thanks to You, O Lord... I WILL sing praises to You."
Even as the "storms of destruction" raged, David's heart was "steadfast" because he knew, despite the constricting, brutal circumstances at the moment, he served a God of "steadfast love" and "faithfulness," who always always always "fulfills His purpose for me"--even when we can't see or understand those purposes. That's faith--trusting that it is enough that He understands and that He who is in complete and perfect control, is also perfectly good and loves us beyond all understanding.
And so David trusts and knows he "will sing and make melody!" He will awake the dawn with harp and lyre.
He will fight despair with the music of praise. And so can we. I couldn't help but think of Amy Carmichael who often shared, "I sing the doxology, and the devil flees."
Last night we were on our way to our youngest son's band concert, but right after we left the house, we witnessed the scene of a tragic wreck involving a bike rider being hit by a car. I felt sick to my stomach, as I thought of the families of all those involved and of the bewildering sorrow and pain they would be enduring.
We eventually arrived at the concert, but I felt so stunned and devastated by what I'd seen, I felt hollow and lost.
But as these kids played their hearts out, and we listened to the beautiful melodies, you couldn't help but remember King David's words. And joy was awakened.
A song even in the midst of sorrow.
Praise even in the midst of perplexity and pain.
The gift of music to lift the downcast heart up to see that God is still upon His throne. And somehow, someway, He is making all things new. And bringing resurrection glory to this broken planet.
He's doing it one song at a time. One note at a time. We WILL choose to remember and to praise Him who is forever faithful and worthy of our music.
Thank You, Father, for the inestimable gift of music to raise our gaze and move our hearts to see You and worship You in Your glory. Our hearts are steadfast--and we WILL sing and make melody.
To God--the Giver of all our songs--be all the glory.
What a reminder of the gift of music. The Bible tells us over and over again to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" and to sing His praises. But I especially love this Psalm's reminder that we can and should sing God's praises not just when life is sunny and bright, but right in the midst of hardship or uncertainty or even sorrow. We don't do it by feeling... we do it by faith.
Psalm 57 was written when David was fleeing for his life from King Saul. The powerful King of Israel was relentlessly pursuing David and had tried repeatedly to kill him. Now David sat huddled in a dark cave, surely feeling as if the world was closing around him and he had no way out--and yet David writes this Psalm. He acknowledges overwhelming danger and fear--but he goes on to proclaim that "I WILL give thanks to You, O Lord... I WILL sing praises to You."
Even as the "storms of destruction" raged, David's heart was "steadfast" because he knew, despite the constricting, brutal circumstances at the moment, he served a God of "steadfast love" and "faithfulness," who always always always "fulfills His purpose for me"--even when we can't see or understand those purposes. That's faith--trusting that it is enough that He understands and that He who is in complete and perfect control, is also perfectly good and loves us beyond all understanding.
And so David trusts and knows he "will sing and make melody!" He will awake the dawn with harp and lyre.
He will fight despair with the music of praise. And so can we. I couldn't help but think of Amy Carmichael who often shared, "I sing the doxology, and the devil flees."
Last night we were on our way to our youngest son's band concert, but right after we left the house, we witnessed the scene of a tragic wreck involving a bike rider being hit by a car. I felt sick to my stomach, as I thought of the families of all those involved and of the bewildering sorrow and pain they would be enduring.
We eventually arrived at the concert, but I felt so stunned and devastated by what I'd seen, I felt hollow and lost.
But as these kids played their hearts out, and we listened to the beautiful melodies, you couldn't help but remember King David's words. And joy was awakened.
A song even in the midst of sorrow.
Praise even in the midst of perplexity and pain.
The gift of music to lift the downcast heart up to see that God is still upon His throne. And somehow, someway, He is making all things new. And bringing resurrection glory to this broken planet.
He's doing it one song at a time. One note at a time. We WILL choose to remember and to praise Him who is forever faithful and worthy of our music.
Thank You, Father, for the inestimable gift of music to raise our gaze and move our hearts to see You and worship You in Your glory. Our hearts are steadfast--and we WILL sing and make melody.
To God--the Giver of all our songs--be all the glory.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Thankful for teachers!
It's teacher appreciation week at Broughton High School and at St. David's. So, for the record, can I just say, THANK THE LORD FOR TEACHERS!!! I really don't know how they do it. Teaching vacation Bible school for 5 days always wiped me out, so I simply cannot imagine teaching day in and day out. All that responsibility. All that adolescent energy. O mercy, I need to go take a nap just thinking about it.
But there truly is no higher calling on this planet than shepherding the hearts and minds of the next generation. No higher calling... no tougher calling... no more demanding calling... and surely, no more rewarding calling. Thank You, Lord, for the men and women willing to make those sacrifices necessary in order to influence and shape our children--our future. Give our teachers strength. Give them vision. Give them courage. Give them grit.
I couldn't help but be reminded of one of my favorite quotes by the great basketball coach (and even greater man), John Wooden. His father passed this creed down to him, and he carried these words in his wallet till the day he died. Wooden shared this with his players and others:
"Be true to yourself. Make each day your masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day."
That's good stuff--and spoken like a true teacher.
So Lord, thank You for our blessings--and today, in particular, thank You for the gift of teachers. For those that taught us and for those that are teaching our children. Give us all teachable spirits that we might listen for Your voice and learn of You.
And no matter how our day may have started or has progressed--even if poorly or not the way we'd hoped--might we entrust with You the remaining hours. For You make all things new. O Lord, whatever portion of this day remains, make it a masterpiece to Your glory. To God be the glory.
But there truly is no higher calling on this planet than shepherding the hearts and minds of the next generation. No higher calling... no tougher calling... no more demanding calling... and surely, no more rewarding calling. Thank You, Lord, for the men and women willing to make those sacrifices necessary in order to influence and shape our children--our future. Give our teachers strength. Give them vision. Give them courage. Give them grit.
I couldn't help but be reminded of one of my favorite quotes by the great basketball coach (and even greater man), John Wooden. His father passed this creed down to him, and he carried these words in his wallet till the day he died. Wooden shared this with his players and others:
"Be true to yourself. Make each day your masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day."
That's good stuff--and spoken like a true teacher.
So Lord, thank You for our blessings--and today, in particular, thank You for the gift of teachers. For those that taught us and for those that are teaching our children. Give us all teachable spirits that we might listen for Your voice and learn of You.
And no matter how our day may have started or has progressed--even if poorly or not the way we'd hoped--might we entrust with You the remaining hours. For You make all things new. O Lord, whatever portion of this day remains, make it a masterpiece to Your glory. To God be the glory.
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