Will You Gain In 2009?

I was sitting on the family room floor, engulfed by a rainbow of yarn skeins, when my yarn basket suddenly began to hover and float across the room. There in its stead was a small, velvety blue M&M bag that my daughter has carried as a purse for the last two weeks. No one taught her how to carry one and Lord KNOWS I did not teach her how to cock her wrist back in a supremely feminine fashion. (My purse has been a diaper bag for the last 19 months!) Nevertheless...she not only knows instinctively how to be a "girly girl," but how to be discontent with what you have and shed it for something seemingly bigger or better.

She walked from the family room to the workroom and said "Hi Da!" while teetering unsteadily from side to side. During her U-turn back towards me, she stumbled and quickly realized the basket was way too difficult to carry. She ran to me frustrated and perspiring and said "Peez peeeeez!!!!!!!!" Her two Lego blocks at the bottom of this monstrosity were unreachable for toddler arms so a "mommy rescue mission" was called for.

A few moments later, I was once again adding yarn to my prodigal basket and Maddie had her M&M bag stuffed with blocks and a couple of neighborhood dominoes. All was right with her world again.

There is no telling what the year ahead holds for each of us. Only God knows our tomorrows and He has promised that He's already in them waiting for us. We may go through similar times in that we live in the same area...same nation...have the same rulers, etc. Yet, on a personal level, 2009 may hold a vast array of joys and sorrows with treasure-filled memories or moments of regret. One scripture the Lord stamped across my thoughts this morning, while watching Maddie groan and stumble trying to carry an over-sized basket she exchanged for her pint-sized purse, 1Tim. 6:6-8 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

2009 holds a promise of "great gain" for me...IF I rest in contentment with what I'm given from my God Whose name is "Jehovah-Jireh." My Provider...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

The Way the Wind Blows

After two different days of 50-60 mph wind gusts, our yard has become a mini obstacle course for the squirrels. There are long, Silver Maple branches, knobby knotted oak limbs and a variety of fall foliage tossed about like a wood salad. Maybe it was growing up in the south with annual tornado watches and warnings, but I detest high winds. I actually experienced a tornado touchdown within 1 block of where I was driving in Florida several years ago and the sound of an oncoming train still provokes me to dive for cover.

While I was surveying the damage to neighboring yards on the way to my in-law's last week, my husband said "Lord, blow the dead branches off of my life." Scott's comment has echoed in my heart ever since he said it. What's in my life that is a "dead branch?"

Only God can answer that question for each of us on a personal level. The branches that ended up on the ground were either detached from the tree to begin with, sick or diseased limbs, or extensions of the tree that didn't receive the water and nourishment it needed to thrive. When high winds shake a tree like a maraca, most of those limbs will come down.

The "winds of change" that blow across my life can cause me a lot of fear (like the tornadoes) or major frustration (since change is not comfortable sometimes). But I'm now inviting the winds to blow...

I know I'll feel the pressure of its push, the force of its persistence and the inability to know what will remain once it has passed through. But a God-sent wind is different than Satan's. Satan always means to kill and destroy while God is a life-giver...and that in abundance. If there are any "dead" extensions, sick sinful attachments, heavy weights not given by the Lord, and unnecessary burdens, I want the Lord to blow. No matter what form that practically means in my life...God knows the branches that need to come down...and the tree will be much healthier and able to thrive and grow in the spring.

Heb 12:1 Therefore...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us...

John 15:1b "...my Father is the husbandman."

Token Thoughts

I did my usual routine this morning and slowly meandered out into the kitchen. My internal GPS knows the most direct route to the coffee pot and sitting next to it, as usual, my favorite mug with a scripture placed over the top. Whoever wakes up first in the morning gets the coffee going, pulls out a cup for the other person, prays for them, then randomly picks a scripture out of the "Bread Box" to place upon their cup. We've done it for years and automatically do the same for anyone that may come to stay with us (tea drinkers equally accompanied). It costs nothing but a moment of consideration and time to pray for the other person...God does the rest with His Word. And yet, whenever I'm the recipient of this little token of love in the morning, it still blesses my heart.

I believe the Lord sends us little "tokens" of His goodness all the time. Small indicators of His love and reminders that His thoughts are towards us continually (Ps. 139). It's just that they can be easily overlooked, missed because we're in a hurry, or sometimes taken for granted. I don't know how many times I have prayed, "Lord, open my eyes to see You today! Help me to hear Your voice and to be sensitive to Your Spirit in everything that happens." To see that ANY Godly friends I have in my life are because You have given me favor in their hearts. To see that I am surrounded by good, imperfect churches that are filled with sinners saved by grace like me. To see that I have clothes on my back, food that You've provided and some form of shelter over my head. I inherited a huge family when You adopted me. If I'm in America, I have freedom to worship.

I just erased at least two full paragraphs. I realized I could go on and on for a very long time. It did my heart good to think this morning on the multitude of reasons I have to be thankful, rather than listen to my flesh groan and complain about what it wants. It does my spirit good when I rest in the promise of His provision, rather than to listen to the enemy who wants me fearful and to believe that I am lacking somehow.

Since you stopped by, here are some coffee cup scriptures for you today:

Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Ps 34:9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

Ps 115:11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

Only Two Things For Christmas

Not long ago, I did quite a bit of research on the "wise men" (or Magi) which are mentioned in the scriptures for a Christmas message I was going to give at a women's tea or something. I remember sinking into the reality of the 900 miles or more that those Gentiles traveled...leaving their homes, families, friends, jobs and country for at LEAST a year to get to a newborn King that was prophesied about by foreigners. Did I mention it was on camel back rather than an SUV? The age of no cell phones or Blackberry's? Charles H. Spurgeon writes:

“Traveling was extremely difficult in those times. There were hostile tribes to avoid, the broad rivers of the Tigris and the Euphrates to cross, and trackless deserts to penetrate; but they made nothing of difficulty or danger. They set out for Jerusalem, and to Jerusalem they came, seeking the King of the Jews."

All of that to do two things: to worship...and to give.

These men were not filled with the power of the Holy Spirit nor did they have the New Testament. They could not stand on all the promises of God when their lives were in danger or when they lost more than two years of their salary. Children were growing up without them while loved ones and friends were completely out of contact. They had no assurance that they would be allowed to get close to this promised King, but they were not content with just the knowledge that Jesus had come. They risked everything, including their own lives, to get to Him...to worship Him...and to give to Him.

We do not have to travel by miserable means across horrendous terrain battling enemies without and within to get to Jesus. It does not take a year to 18 months to be able to look up towards His face. It doesn't take incredible wealth and gifts of gold to bless this Messiah.

It takes a mere moment for the eyes of the heart to look across universes, skip through galaxies and traverse infinity into the very Presence of this gracious King. It takes one more moment for the heart to speak, with or without words, of its sincere love and devotion and gratitude to the One Who came 2,000 years ago.

I pray none of us are content with just knowing that He came this Christmas, but your heart makes a journey to worship...and to give...to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Elmo Needs Gram's House

My mother and sister-in-law have a running joke between them. If my niece or nephews are given a very loud, obnoxious toy, it's automatically labeled "Gram's House toy". My mom doesn't seem too deterred by this as she still buys battery-operated mayhem in a toy disguise.

Something truly miraculous occurs all over this country that I have never seen nor read about in any periodical, medical journal, or Discovery Health show. As a mother gives physical birth, many grandparents give birth to a strange new level of tolerance and patience for clamor, noise, incessant blinking lights, and repetitiously high-pitched voices from dolls and characters. Yes...it's a miracle for grandparents and it's wrapped up and tucked in their love for the grandchild.

Our little miracle girl is 18 months old now and while shopping at Target two months ago, her eyes fastened on a large Elmo doll. I lost my rational thinking when I saw her eyes light up just as round as her opened mouth. I reached over and pushed Elmo's foot then watched him bow down and tell my daughter how much he loved her and then blew two kisses. Two chubby arms snatched Elmo out of my hands and wrapped themselves tightly around Elmo's box. Behind the box came the familiar words "Ohhhhhhh wwwwooooooowwwww!!!" and a relationship was made without my permission yet with my assistance.

Elmo arrived at our house two weeks ago via her Grandma visiting early for Christmas. He is not leaving because "Gram's House" is too far away...so he's a permanent resident. I haven't lost my sanity, nor my relationship with the Lord, but I believe I may be on to something that Jesus MUST...MUST...have coming in the very near future for me. My 24 year-old son is about to find a wife! This way, I can quickly become a grandparent and have birthed within me that miraculous patience, tolerance, and overall sense of peace and joy when Elmo says for the 6,824,369th time..."Elmo fell down. Can you help Elmo?" Yes, it might be all about me, but I can now imitate that little voice to perfection and that's not something you put on a resume.

Yes...I know. Bad theology, wrong doctrine, self-centered and not Biblical. Humor just helps me avoid harmful thoughts of small, red, furry mechanical puppets with high-pitched, loud voices is all. :)

A Tasty Reminder

Oh myyyyyy....I estimate that there were at least 800-900 delicately decorated Christmas cookies, melt-in-your-mouth slabs of fudge, bakery-style sweet breads ...even chocolate dipped cherries mascarading as mice, sitting on the church counter this morning. A complete subalpine display of sugar coated calories. Yummmm. As women, don't we find near soulmates by our sweet tooths and fellow artisans in food decor? It was such a "sweet" time of fellowship after Bible study today. (Bad pun, I know.)

Driving home with Maddie, I thought about carrying her around all that temptation for 45 minutes this morning and not once did she ask for a bite. She didn't take a crumb from the corner of my mouth nor do her normal "back arch" when she wanted down to get her hands on what is close herself. Someone said "Wow! Maddie isn't crying for a bite of a cookie?"

I then told my friend how she'd never had a cookie before, plus she is highly allergic to nuts. Sugar doesn't make her hyper, (I can definitely handle hyper), it makes her very angry and upset, prone to cry for no reason and not easily comforted.

Isn't it such a great parallel to us as well? Since she'd never bitten into the amazing taste of a cookie, she was not tempted by it at all. God not only warns us about sin, he says "Don't even taste it." He tells us that it is only pleasurable for a season. Then, like that Lay's Potato Chip commercial aptly says, "You never can eat just one." And so one bite into sin usually leads to two...and before you know it, you want your own bakery.

The effects of sugar in Maddie are just like what sin does to me. I get miserable, frustrated, angry at others, touchey and not easily comforted. I can never receive true comfort when my heart has a prideful sin issue. But Satan loves to tempt us. I found one small cookie that actually looked a bit healthy. It had oatmeal, raisins, and what looked like apple bits in it and I thought "Oh THAT looks ok for her to try." When I picked it up though, I saw the little nuts and knew one bite could send her into anaphylactic shock and be life threatening if not immediately treated. Satan has a way of hiding the harmful, dangerous effects of sin within a sweet appearance.

I tell you nothing you don't already know. The Lord just needed to remind me this morning and I take His warnings to heart...and now I've shared them with you. May you be so "full" from eating His Word, feasting on His faithfulness and tasting of His love, that you can walk by a counterfeit feast of the world's delicacies and Satan's dainties and find that you are not tempted in the very least.

Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

My Friend Mary Barrett

Everyone has gone to bed but myself. I've been trying for weeks now to write some type of memorial for one of the greatest friendships I've been given by the Lord. I can't do it. It may be too soon....but every time I write a sentence or hover over a paragraph, it turns out to be a poor reflection of what I want to say, portray or convey. The "backspace" button is nearly worn off my keyboard. I'll just upload a brief video I made tonight with a few pictures I have of Mary over the last few years. The majority of my pictures aren't digital. Her awesome "big hair" days are absent...

The song behind the pictures is special. As most people know, Mary primarily played the guitar. Though I completely believe she could've played a tennis racquet because it had strings on it, she also plunked around with several other instruments. A while back, she told me she was "learning" how to play the piano. Every now and then, she'd give me a piano update and I thought that I'd get to hear a perfect rendition of "Chopsticks" when I saw her later at the East Coast Pastor's Wives conference. One of the days of the retreat, I went to find her so we could eat lunch together and was stopped by the worship I heard in the main auditorium. When I peeked in, I was STUNNED to hear the incredible music that Mary was playing on the piano. I quietly snuck up behind her, jumped out and knocked her off the bench saying "Learning? You are LEARNING to play the piano?!" It would take me a brief eon to learn how to make my fingers dance on a keyboard like hers were in such a short time. Over the next 30 minutes, she sang and played several songs for me. This is the one that drew me to tears. The next week, I got an e-mail with the song recorded and attached. It's called "I Will Care For You."

No...I don't think I'll ever be able to express what Mary's friendship meant to me, nor adequately reveal the permanent imprint she's made upon my life. God's friendships are one of the most special "good gifts" He loans us by His grace. May yours be just as cherished, God-centered, and life-changing as mine was...I certainly can't wait to pick up in heaven where we left off on earth.

True Homeland Security

Since I was born and raised in KY, with family and friends still living there, my heart sunk this morning when I saw the headline "Atheists Want God Out Of Homeland Security". Here are the first few lines...

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A group of atheists filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to remove part of a state anti-terrorism law that requires Kentucky's Office of Homeland Security to acknowledge it can't keep the state safe without God's help.

American Atheists Inc. sued in state court over a 2002 law that stresses God's role in Kentucky's homeland security...

Of particular concern is a clause requiring the Office of Homeland Security to post a plaque that says the safety and security of the state "cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God" and to stress that fact through training and educational materials.

The plaque, posted at the Emergency Operations Center, includes the Bible verse: "Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Aren't times changing at roller coaster speed? The South used to be appropriately called "The Bible Belt," Christian colleges used to believe in the inerrancy of scripture, only a blink of time ago we were able to say "Merry Christmas" and the name of Jesus could be worn on a kids T-shirt without suspension from school.

If a small group of people that hate God in KY win their case and strip any reference to security, defense and help mainly coming from the Lord, it still will not change its fact. I sat on a couple of wonderful verses this morning...

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Ps.121:1-2

Sometimes, we seem to be on "mountaintops" in life where the air is fresh, the view is vast, and the sun seems closer. When in battle the mountain also provides protection and advantageous positioning to see and attack a vulnerable enemy below. Yet, the psalmist wrote from the valley. We've talked about valleys before-those places where shadows of death like to taunt, darkness often covers the pathway, or a vague sense of fear can pursue the traveler's thoughts.

Yet here is the place we are encouraged to find comfort and safety. Let me speak practically.

Our help will not come from a mountain of finances, a strong portfolio or a strategic position in some place of business. Our security and safety will not be because of military might, technological advances, governmental intervention or your own shotgun. It will not come from the very best physicians, the most knowledgeable experts, nor the most intelligent advisers.

"MY HELP comes from the LORD"...the One that MADE the vast expanse of the heavens and the earth. The One that made the mountains and the valleys, the nations and the rulers, the physicians and the medicine. Can you picture any source of safety and security in this world sitting next to the Lord...and then hear Him ask you "Where do you want YOUR help to come from?"

"Lest the Lord keep the nation, the city, the home, the family, the marriage, the children...they watch and labor in vain that try and keep it." Slight paraphrase of Psalm 127:1...but true.

We're Being Watched...

I don't have a little boy and I'm not a father...but this struck me and ricocheted in a dozen different heart directions.

1Co 11:1 "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."
Eph 5:1 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children..."