Blessings?

I’ve been a people watcher all my life. I remember being a very small child and watching my relatives, or my parents’ friends at gatherings. Adults fascinated me. When I was 16, I went to Six Flags over Texas for the first time. Standing in lines for hours was made tolerable because I could watch people. The first mall opened in our town when I was 18 and my favorite thing was not the shopping but the opportunity to sit and watch.

The opportunity to watch people exploded with social media. With Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and discussion groups, I can watch thousands of people every day and I’m perplexed. I don’t understand people’s general definition of “blessings.”

I have many friends who are not self-described Christians and many more who are. It’s the Christians who really confuse me. It seems that only when things are going super-fantabulous, that they believe God is blessing. So many times, those things identified by Christians as “blessings” are temporal, earthly things.

“God blessed us with a new television!” (Hmmmm…. Maybe…)

“God blessed me with a great job making tons of money!” (I hope it doesn’t take you out of church on Sunday, or even Wednesday.)

“I got a new iPad! Isn’t God great?” (He is great whether you got an iPad or not.)

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t thank God for the things we have or the good circumstances that come our way. Blessings in the Bible are often equated with happiness and prosperity but I know that as a Christian, blessings should be much more.

I rarely see exclamations like these:

“God counted me worthy to fall into divers temptations! What a blessing!”

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-4)

“God blessed me with a terrible week and I endured!”

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:17)

Or

“I am so thankful that God has chastened me this week!”

Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; (Psalm 94:1)

Don’t misunderstand, I like the good STUFF, too. But I want God’s blessings, not mine.

New televisions are old as soon as the next one with a better picture and more functions comes out. The sheen of a new job fades when the daily drudge takes over. Even the great money isn’t so great when you realize what you have to endure to get it. I had my iPad for less than 3 months when the NEW iPad was introduced. (Oh, I still love mine, but you know what I mean.)

I want those blessings that will follow me to my deathbed and beyond. When I’m 100 years old and sitting in my rocker, I want to remember how God blessed me with eternal treasures. Some of the most fiery trials of my life and produced the sweetest fruit. My troubled childhood produced in me a love for the wounded. My many miscarriages led me to adoption and my beloved children. Since I almost died after surgery, my perspective on life has changed entirely. I don’t fret over the little stuff so much.

We should be thankful for everything that God sends our way. The next time I get ready to post a Facebook status or Tweet and it’s been a rough road, I want to thank God for the blessings of the rough road.

Committment

This is almost an exact copy of a post from my devotion blog, Grace and Salt. I wrote this almost three years ago and I still wonder. Why is it that some commitments stick and most don't?

"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
"When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God."

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

I've been meditating on commitment for many days now. We seem to live in a culture that has abandoned the concept. When I was young, quitting was a shame — not any more. Husbands and wives quit. Parents quit. Children quit. Christians quit.

I've said before that I've been in church almost my whole life. I started out in the church nursery and I've been everything from a deacon's kid to a bus kid to the preacher's wife. Through the years, I have seen literally thousands kneel at an altar and make a commitment to the Lord. Sadly, without a scientific study, I would say that near 90% of those commitments are abandoned. The person who keeps a vow is the rare exception.

But why?

That question is the base of my meditation and I don't know that I have any answers yet.

What do you think? Why do folks not keep the commitments that they make to the Lord.

I know the basic answers like "the cares of this world," "decisions made in haste," "peer presure." But are those the root reasons?

Tell me what you think.

Reminding Myself

I wrote this almost a year and a half ago. Doing some maintenance on my blog, I came across it tonight. It's a good reminder.


"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 2:4-7

That's what I'll be willing to do.

For today, I'm reminding myself of some things. You can eavesdrop if you want.

I listen to Dr. Laura regularly because I love to hear people being told how to behave. One of the things she often says is that it's not important what you are feeling, but how you are behaving.

I need to hear that. A lot.

It's a good thing to remind myself because sometimes I want to behave out of how I feel instead of in spite of how I feel.

I feel hurt. I feel wronged. I feel frustrated. I just feel mad. I want to snap at people. I want to tell people off. I want to strike out at people. But I know better.

So do you know what I do? I get alone with God. I cross my arms across my chest and scowl like I did when I was six.  I tell Him that people are stupid. I tell Him that I'm mad. I tell Him it's not fair.

And He says, "I know."

So I ask what I should do.

And He says

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Micah 6:8

It doesn't matter how I feel. It matters how I act.

For as long as I can remember, I have sung this chorus:

To be like Jesus
To be like Jesus
All I ask— to be like Him
All through life's journey
From earth to glory
All I ask— to be like Him.

So how can I be like Jesus? God says, "I'm glad you asked. I wrote about that, too."

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."

1 Peter 2:21-25

I should follow in His steps. I cannot tell you how many times since I committed that passage to memory that I quote the little phrase "but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously."

So I uncross my arms. I relax the scowl. I unball my fists. I drop my shoulders. And I surrender to the Shepherd and Bishop of my soul.

I sing another song I have sang for as long as I can remember.

Whatever It Takes by Lanny Wolfe

verse 1
There’s a voice calling me
From an old rugged tree
And His whispers draw closer to me
Leave this world far behind
There are new heights to climb
And a new place in me you will find


chorus
For whatever it takes to draw closer to you Lord
That’s what I’ll be willing to do
For whatever it takes to be more like you
That’s what I’ll be willing to do


verse 2
Take the dearest things to me
If that’s how it must be
To draw me closer to the
Let the disappointments come
Lonely days without the sun
If through sorrow more like you I become


For whatever it takes to draw closer to you Lord
That’s what I’ll be willing to d
For whatever it takes to be more like you
That’s what I’ll be willing to do
I’ll trade sunshine for rain
Comfort for pain
That’s what I’ll be willing to do
For whatever it takes for my will to break
That’s what I’ll be willing to do


That’s what I’ll be willing to do.

According to the commandment…

"And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment."

Luke 23:55-56

He was gone. They watched as His body was laid in the sepulchre. The grief and confusion mingled in their hearts. But they went on. They prepared the spices and ointments to properly bury Him and they rested "according to the commandment." 

The faith of those women is inspiring. When I'm confused, sad, and overwhelmed I try to remember the women who followed Him. At the darkest hour of their lives, they did what they knew to be right. They rested.

Do I?

Remembering

I was born in Germany where Dad was stationed in the Air Force. We moved to the States when I was 2 and settled in West Texas where Dad was an instructor at Goodfellow Air Force Base. When my parents decided we needed to find a church, they found Baptist Temple because it had the same name as the church in Kansas City where they were married. I began my way through the children's classes.

The first day of the Beginners' Department, I joyfully marched in with all the other fresh four year olds to the big kids class. We sang new songs and divided up by age and gender to our own classrooms for the first time. I relished in the bright decorations on the walls and listened intently to a story told with pictures on a flannel board. I sat taller because I just knew I was so grown.

We were Sunday School attenders. My family went to Sunday School and the went home. We didn't go to the church services. But my new department teacher invited me to Children's church! I pestered and pestered until finally my parents started staying for the church service so I could go to Children's church.

On Palm Sunday in 1966, a bright-eyed five-year-old little girl listened intently while the teacher told the story of the crucifixion. I can still see the flannelgraph figure on my Jesus dying on the cross. For the very first time, my heart was pricked with conviction. He did that just for me… just to pay the penalty for my sin.

After church, that image burned in my mind. We ate lunch and went out to play. My little brother had several disabilities and I always helped him play. I was pushing him around the neighborhood on our green pedal tractor when he decided to stop and look at something. As he wandered off,  I rested on my knees behind that tractor and the conviction of the Cross flooded over me.

As a five-year-old little girl, I bowed my head there in the sunny April Sunday afternoon and asked Jesus to be my Savior. I ran in and told my mother and the next Sunday, Easter, after church my pastor knelt down to my level and for 20 minutes asked me questions about what I had done. I remember him standing and looking at my parents and saying, "She knows what she did and she understands."

Every April, as the newness of spring bursts forth around me, I remember the newness of salvation that I knew that April so long ago.

And I'm thankful.

Morning

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

—Lamentations 3:21-23

I confess that I am a worrier. It is a time-honored tradition passed on to me by my mother. It is also not one I am proud of. I have spent much time in prayer for the past year or so, attempting to overcome my tendency to worry. In the past couple of days, several things have come up that have made me worry. This morning, the Lord brought these verses to my heart and a great burden of worry was lifted from my soul.

His compassions are new every morning. I am so thankful for morning.

Half Empty or Half Full?

View from my back door, Wednesday, December 9 about 7 am.

There are few things that cause me to suffer more criticism than the fact that I love the snow! Family, friends, co-workers, and even random strangers are aghast when they find out that I want it to snow in winter.

Don't get me wrong, I know the downside of the snow. I've shoveled. I've inched my way to work over snow-packed roads. Last year, I even fell and left a body mark in the snow against the side of my car and wound up under the car. But I still love it. I love every snowflake—the more the better.

I love the muffled quiet as the snow falls.

I love the sparkling sunshine when the storm is over and the sun comes out.

I love the piles of white covering the deadness of the winter grass.

I love the joy on my Beau's face when he looks out the window and sees the snow.

I love the Bible verses about snow:

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?

Job 38:22

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than SNOW.

Psalms 51:7

She is not afraid of the SNOW for her household: for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet.

Proverbs 31:21

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as SNOW; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18

For as the rain cometh down, and the SNOW from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

Isaiah 55:10

I love the snow because I choose to remember the things about it that I love. I don't watch the first snowflake fall and begin to worry about driving, or shoveling, or falling. My glass isn't even half full… it's overflowing!

Sunday School Songs

I am blessed. For millions — really millions — of reasons, I am blessed. One of the most notable blessings of my life though has been Sunday School. My Air Force father was stationed in West Texas when I was almost three and we moved there from Germany where I was born. My mother immediately found a church where we could go to Sunday School. Shortly after we began attending, I turned three and was promoted to the 3-year-old class.

And I began learning the songs. Through almost all of the trials of my life, only second to Scripture, my solace has been found in the songs I began learning so very long ago.

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow.
My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow.
Strength for today
Is mine all the way
And all that I need for tomorrow.
My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow.

Through one of the darkest times of my life the words, "Strength for today is mine all the way" comforted me moment by moment.

Mine, mine, mine, mine
Jesus is mine!
Mine when I'm weary,
Mine when I'm cheery!
Mine, mine, mine, mine,
Jesus is mine!
Jesus is always mine!

Singing those words make me so excited I almost want to jump up and down! (Except that would not be pretty … trust me.)

And of course, the truth that is the basis of my faith:

Jesus love me,
This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.

Sing to your little ones and you touch their lives for all their lives.

Memorizing Scripture

How much Scripture do you have committed to memory? When I was a child and a teenager, I memorized major passages: Isaiah 53, Psalm 1, Psalm 8, Psalm 37, I Corinthians 13, the book of James, John 1, John 3. (I know there are others, but I can't remember!!!) My brain was younger then, but I still love to memorize God's Word. I've been working on the book of Hebrews for a while. I have a few chapters memorized. I've also committed I Peter 2 to memory. It is so much easier for the Holy Spirit to communicate with me when He is able to remind me of verses that I have written on my heart.

How much Bible is written on your heart?

Some incomplete thoughts on water

Water. One of the most common substances in our environment.

I took my Hero to work this morning and we pass through Davenport on the way. I saw all the areas along the way that were underwater last week and are now drying out as the Mississippi receeds into her banks. I thought about the power of water. Thousands of people spent thousands of hours trying to hold back the rain-swollen rivers and too many times, the rivers won. Days after the last raindrops have fallen, the earth is still saturated. And yet, in the southeastern United States, they still long for rain. The thirsty earth there cracks for want of moisture.

In all our technology, science, and wisdom, we cannot control the rain let alone the water cycle of which the rain is a part.

I thought about water in the Bible:

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:14

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Revelation 22:17

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Isaiah 41:17-18

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3

And our God controls this water:

Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

Job 38:8-11

Just some things I'm thinking about today.

Just a picture

A Grandmother's Hope

"And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;" 2 Chronicles 17:3

Do you see this little boy?



If you read my blog very often, you will know this is my grandson Elisha. I have another grandson named Ethan, but he was placed at birth for adoption with another family and I have never known him, though I pray for him daily. I have a granddaughter, Emma, who will be here any time between now and July 1. I'll post pictures of her, too, I'm sure.

As I've researched the genealogy of my family and my Hero's family, I have marveled at how many ancestors I have come across who were Bible-believer's who stood for their faith. Many of them were preachers of the gospel. Several of them suffered for their beliefs.

I believe they prayed for their children and their children's children. They prayed for us.

Jehoshaphat was the great-great-great grandson of David. He never knew David, but the Bible says he walked in the ways of his father, David.

I never knew Thomas Dungan. My Hero never knew John Dupree or John Thomas Longino. Yet these men have grandchildren who walk in their ways.

This is my hope for Elisha, for Ethan, for Emma and for the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren to follow. First, I want to seek the Lord's face myself. Then, I want them to walk in my ways.

A Tribute to My Mom

My Mother Is Fixed

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18

You know the funny things kids say that then become family sayings? Most kids do it. When Wendy was little, and her dad would joke with her, she would say, “Daddy, you pulling my leg off!” When she was a little older, maybe four, she was laying in the floor at my Mom’s house coloring while Mom and I were bemoaning the current state of affairs. A little voice from the floor said, “What’s coming to this world?” (Instead of “what’s this world coming to?”) Bryan, my nephew, when he was little, would bring me broken toys and say “Tay, fik it!” To this day when something is broken, I say to my honey, “Fik it, Mark, fik it!” Until I was five, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was a “bearm-boo fin-soo.” Don’t ask me what I was thinking! My brother called the Sno-Cone man who drove through our neighborhood selling sno-cones, the “Gitchie McGotchie.”

Then there was my sister, Lesli. You know when your kids ask for money and you don’t want to give them any, you tell them you are broke. Well, Les didn’t take this answer for long. By the time she was 2 1/2 she would bring Mom’s wallet, open, with the shiny coins, maybe just pennies and nickels, showing and say just as sweet as honey, “Mommy, you fixed!” In other words, “Don’t tell me you’re broke–I see the money!”

However, the truth is, at that time in her life, my Mom was broken. Mom grew up in church. She sang in a gospel trio with her sisters in churches all over Southern Missouri. She knew the gospel inside out. But my mom wasn’t the good sister. She was the “wild child” and she knew it. She felt like God loved the world and sent His Son to die for the world and anyone who called upon Him would be saved … except her. She was “too bad” for God’s salvation to reach her.

She had five kids by the time she was 26 years old. After the last baby, postpartum depression set in. The doctors didn’t know what it was then — or what was causing it. They medicated the symptoms, but didn’t address the problem. She got worse. I grew up with a mother who was broken — mentally ill they called it.

When I was 13, she made a profession of faith, but I was very skeptical. I was right. Nothing changed. She still had it in her head that God couldn’t save her.

As a teenager, to say that my relationship with my mother was strained would be an understatement. We rarely spoke to each other. We lived in the same house but we were strangers. She was lost in the darkness of her world. I was angry with her for leaving me behind to find my own way through my world. I was a know-it-all teenage girl. She despaired in a world where she knew nothing.

In her brokenness, she tried to end her life multiple times. When I was 18 and at Bible College, she almost succeeded. She was in the hospital and the doctors gave her a 5% chance of surviving the night. My family didn’t call me to tell me because it was during midterms and they didn’t want my grades to suffer. In the dark night of the hospital, my mom decided that she needed to find out if God was big enough to save even her. She called a preacher and he came and introduced her to that Mighty God who can save even the vilest of sinners. God saw the shiny coins, maybe just pennies and nickels, and God saw worth.

Mom, who had been broken for so long, was fixed. She didn’t heal overnight. However, a loving, patient, and long suffering God made my Mom over again, fixed.

In addition, we found each other. We were fixed: Mother and daughter. She became more than my best friend–she became my mom.

Because of Mom, I know that no matter how black the darkness becomes, God can fix it. Because of Mom, I know that God always sees the faint sparkles of the few coins and to Him we are all worth it. And because of Mom, heaven is a very real place where not only my Savior waits, but my mom is there waiting for me. Fixed.

He's Able

He Is Able to Save Us
Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

He Is Able to Keep Us
2 Timothy 1:12 "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

He Is Able to Deliver Us
Daniel 3:17 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king."

He is Able to Make Us Stand
Romans 14:4 "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand."

He is Able to Help Us When We Are Tempted
Hebrews 2:18 "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."

Drought and Deluge

In West Texas, rain is a valued commodity.

• You know you're from West Texas if you don't associate bridges with water.

• A Texan was overheard saying, "It's been so dry that we got catfish in the creek three years old that haven't learned to swim yet."

A visitor once asked, "Does it ever rain in West Texas?"
A rancher quickly answered, "Yes, it does. Do you remember in the Bible where it rained for 40 days and 40 nights?"
The visitor replied, "Yes, I'm familiar with Noah's flood."
"Well," the rancher puffed up, "We got about two and a half inches of that."

So now, I live in a town right on the Mississippi River in the Heartland. And this year in particular, we've had absolutely no shortage of rain. In fact, I was reading in Genesis just to get those instructions for the ark pinned down.

This is LeClaire Park in nearby Davenport last summer:











This is LeClaire Park in Davenport this past Sunday — and the River hadn't crested yet. When the River did crest on Tuesday, the park was completely underwater. The railing was completely submerged. As of today, the water is receding, but rain upriver is on the way tomorrow.

Does your walk with God mirror the dry conditions of my childhood, or is the joy of fellowship with the Lord washing over the shores of your soul?

Sweet Peas

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” Psalm 106:2

Spring gardening is upon us and I love the beauty of the flower garden. Some of that beauty can be mirrored in our walk with the Lord. This flower is a Sweet Peat. Isn't it beautiful? Today I want to remind you of some of the Lord's benefits. I want to remind you of some the Lord's Sweet "P's."

Position
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
Ephesians 2:4-6
We are risen with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places!

Prayer
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
We have the privilege of coming to God in prayer.

Power
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
I John 4:4
We have the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the devil.

Provision
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
We have access to God's provision.

Purpose
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
Jeremiah 29:11
God has a purpose for us.

Pardon
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Isaiah 55:7
God pardons us! That right there is one of the sweetest scents ever!

Peace
"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8
It doesn't matter what state the affairs of this world are in, God gives His children peace.

Path
"Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways."
Psalm 139:3
I don't have to worry about tomorrow because God knows the way.

Promise
"That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:"
Ephesians 3:6
Aren't you glad that God made us partakers of His promise?

Pity
"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him."
Psalm 103:13
There is no safer place than in the arms of the Father.

Patience
"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:"
Romans 15:5
I don't know about you, but it is certainly a good thing for me that our God is patient.

Pattern
"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:"
I Peter 2:21
Christ left us a pattern for us to follow.

Pleasure
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
Psalm 16:11
Just saving my sinful soul from Hell is joyous enough, but God offers me pleasure.

Potter
"But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."
Isaiah 64:8
In the hands of the Master Potter, the dust of my life is made into a usable vessel.

Praise
"Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely."
Psalm 147:1
"It is pleasant; and praise is comely."

Presence
"And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."
Exodus 33:14
Is there anywhere I can't go in confidence since my Lord is with me?

Priesthood
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"
I Peter 2:9
As a member of the royal priesthood, I have access to the Father!

Purging
"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
Hebrews 1:3
The Mighty God "himself purged our sins." No flower in creation can equal the beauty of His benefits.

Nest time, we'll talk about "T."

Dandelions and Bitterness

Spring has arrived in the Midwest United States and with it, the weeds. The grass has just turned green and the flowers aren't even blooming yet, but the dandelions have already made their debut.


“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” Hebrews 12:15

Some Things I Have Learned About A Dandelion

It is hardy.


• It sends down one main taproot and can regenerate the entire plant from any part of that root.
• It grows low to the ground to protect itself from grazing animals and lawnmowers until it is ready to go to seed.
• It can grow anywhere.

• Forest Floor
• Rocky beach
• Well-kept lawns

It is prolific.


• It goes to seed rapidly.

• In 12-18 hours, it goes from a flower bulb to a full seed head.

• One plant produces hundreds of seeds.
• It multiplies efficiently.

• Every petal is a complete flower and can completely reproduce.

Is is deceptive and destructive.


• It begins with a pretty yellow flower.
• It becomes ugly very quickly. How many newly mown yards are marred by the dandelion stems that pop right back up?
• It robs sunlight and nutrients from all the plants and grass around it.



It is hard to destroy.

• You have to kill the entire root.

• The seeds are widespread. Seeds can travel miles and have been known to cross mountains.

Some Things I Have Learned About Bitterness

It is hardy.

• It has a strong root.

• Bitterness usually has its root in an event over which I have no control. I am hurt and rather than allow God to use the event according to His will, I get bitter.

• It grows deep in the heart to avoid detection and removal until it has a firm hold and is ready to go to seed.
• It can happen to any of us.

• The wild untamed heart who may say, “I don’t care.” Yes, you do.
• The thin, stony, or sandy heart who may say, “Things just don’t get to me.” Yes, they do.
• The guarded, tended heart who may say, “I stay close to God.” It only takes one undetected or ignored seed of bitterness to plant a root.

It is prolific.

• It grows and reproduces rapidly
• One event to which I inappropriately respond will create hundreds of seeds of sin in my life.
• It multiplies efficiently.

• Unless I get the root, every petal of the bitterness will generate sin.

Is is deceptive and destructive.

• It appears pleasant at first.

• When something bad happens, doesn’t it feel good to blame and complain?

• It becomes ugly very quickly.
• It robs from the good things in my heart and life.



It is hard to destroy.

• You have to kill the entire root.
• The root of bitterness is two-fold:

• A lack of faith in God.
• Selfishness.

Galatians 5:19-21 The works of the flesh are all rooted in selfishness.

• The seeds are widespread. “… and thereby many be defiled.”

To overcome a root of bitterness, I must:

1. Confess my selfishness.
2. Give my heart and hurt to God and trust Him.
3. Choose to respond positively to the events in my life.

Resting in Him

On Mondays, I've been trying to talk about what it is like to be a church planter. There are funny things that happen. There are blessings and there are trials.

Sometimes, its easy for me to get my eyes on the trials. In the early days of a church, there seems to be a lot of loneliness for me. If I'm not careful, I dwell on that and not on my precious Lord. One of the reasons I take so many nature pictures is to remind myself of the wonder of God's creation. The mind and imagination of God is so unfathomable. All around us are the wonders that God created and yet it is us — me — that He takes a special interest in! Isn't that magnificent?

The weather here is just beautiful, especially after the hard winter we just endured. I walked outside this morning just to enjoy it and noticed the dew on the grass. So I ran back inside and grabbed my camera. (I wonder what the cars driving by thought of this crazy lady crouched down taking pictures of grass!)

Here is my favorite shot:



"Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?" Job 38:28

"By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." Proverbs 3:20

Church Planting

For almost 19 years my husband has been a church planter in the United States. He has either taken small, struggling churches and tried to rebuild them or started a church from scratch in an area that did not have a strong Baptist church.

One of the funniest stories we tell is the services when our daughter was young and no one would show up at church but our family — the three of us. We still had church. We sang the hymns and Wendy and I sat and listened to the sermon my husband preached. But, on more than one occasion, we hit a snag. Our little girl, who was still a preschooler, didn't always want to sit still. So, what do parents do when a child acts up in church? You take her out, talk to her, discipline her if necessary, and bring her back in, right? Now imagine, that when you take her out, the preacher is left preaching to no one.

So, my sweetheart, would just pause the sermon, wait for us to come back in, and finish preaching!

Ah, the life of a church planter.