Lessons Learned

I've been gluten free for over a year. I'm do not have celiacs, so gluten won't kill me. However, with my Hosimoto's gluten is like a poison. Now I'm an intelligent woman and I get this! 

Unfortunately, Saturday I decided to throw caution to the wind. I ate bread! Well, it took about an hour for the inflammation to start accumulating and then just an overall feeling of yuck took over. So, why did I do it, because I could. I felt sad at all I've given up and still not seeing the results I want in my body; however, my choices weren't constructive at all.

It was a perfect example of how sin creeps into our lives. We start out thinking, "Oh, I'll just do this (insert sin) a little, and the next thing we know it has taken over. 

You see I knew not to eat the bread. I knew what it would do. But I started thinking, "Everybody else eats bread and they don't gain weight. Even though I knew it wouldn't be beneficial. 

I'm so glad that God's grace is new each and every day. Thankfully, that grace is in abundance and greater than all our sin!

 

What to leave behind

 Allistair Beggs said, "If you are in Christ, the promise of Abraham is yours."

 So what is the promise of Abraham?

"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3

Friend, I've been thinking a lot about what to leave behind. First, I want to leave a trail of Jesus's grace. I want others to see a life that didn't have a "worldly" standard of success, but was set apart from Day 1. 

Next, I want to leave a love of reading. As I read everything I asked my students to read I pray they absorb a love of words. I want words to speak to the heart of those I've loved. 

God told Abraham he would be a blessing. May that be so in my life!

A Day of Rest

 Several things have been going through my mind for the last few weeks - rest, grace, and the Sabbath. I haven't made a connection until today.

On Saturday, I saw a teacher blog post that had a PLU slide. It said, "How to survive your season of suffering." As if our job is a picture of suffering. How sad is that? That a presenter had to tell young teachers to remember to eat, drink water, and rest. Needless to say, this got me thinking.

Teaching today is a 24/7 job. Literally! I work roughly nine hours a day in the brick and mortar building. I come home, cook, wash dishes, and usually do another hour or two of work. Sunday, I usually spend three or four hours working. Matt calls it "Teachers subsidizing education." He isn't far from the truth, besides my unpaid time, I supplement my curriculum at my expense.

So as these thoughts pressed in I thought about rest. At church our guest speaker spoke on "Sabbath Rest." At this point Dan just stares at me and I said, "Ok God, I'm listening."

Did you know rest is mentioned between 390 and 520 times in the Bible depending on your translation?

  The Hebrew word "sabat" means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The fourth commandment tells us, "To "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labors and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of laboring." (gotquestions.org)

 Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience”

Like most people my age I grew up practicing a form of "rest," which for us was on Sunday. We didn't cook, clean, shop, or do laundry on Sunday. We went to church and relaxed. 

Now friend, I completely understand that there is no rest without Jesus. However, as I pondered these things I thought of all I have on my to do list, and then I pondered one day of no work, thinking about work, or reading about work. Could I even do it? Is it even possible to disconnect from work, something that is a huge part of who I am? Would it give me a new outlook on life and work? Would it make me a better teacher in the long run?

The Westminster Larger Catechism says, "...we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.

Friend, I probably don't have an answer to this, but I do know that teaching in this time is the hardest profession around. And if we don't take time to prepare our hearts we will not be successful.

Arm yourself

 "Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin." 1 Peter 4:1

Let's look at this verse a minute and I want you to look at the phrase "arm yourself with the same resolve." For some reason this really hit me hard.

Perhaps it is because I can't get over the unkindness and I don't care attitude I see in our world. Perhaps I'm just old, but as I read I thought well what was Jesus's resolve?

Christ's resolve was to do the Father's will, to humble himself in perfect obedience, and to die on a cross for our sins. 

He counted others more significant than Himself! He withstood the mocking, shame, and suffering for us. His goal was to please the Father. Do we share that resolve?

In Philippians 2:5, Paul challenged believers to present the Gospel from a united front by aligning their attitudes with Christ’s.

Is my attitude like Christ? Oh, friend, we all fall so short but like Paul, that doesn't mean we should stop pressing on.

I Speak Jesus

 It is get the morning praise music rolling in the morning. Right now I'm starting with "I Speak Jesus" and usually hit replay. Yesterday, the Spirit was so strong I cried as the sun rose literally during my ride.

Now if you know me you know I'm not a "work up emotion in order to worship" girl. But friends, the words! I'm old. I've done this teaching thing a long time. I've had accolades through the years. However, right now I want to speak Jesus!

"Your name is power
Your name is healing

Your name is life

Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire"

There's just something about it. Philippians 2:10 says, "...so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."

Matthew 10:27 says, "“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."

Oh friend, what if we all "Considered" this Jesus and spoke Jesus where ever we went?

Hebrews 10:24

 

Yesterday, the preacher started preaching in Hebrews. This verse seemed to jump off the page. Did you know the word "consider" in this context is only used twice in the book of Hebrews, here and in chapter three, verse one? 

I had to stop and think, do I get up every morning and ask God to show me what I need to do for others?

John Piper said, "When you get up in the morning, Consider — think about, ponder, deliberate, meditate, mull over — other people, with this conscious goal: what can I do today so that they will be stirred up to love and to good deed?"

Piper went on to say, this should be the aim of our lives.

Friend, I used to think only certain people were gifted to be an encourager, but after reading Hebrews I think we all are called. It isn't a selective gift given to a few, it is a call on us all!

Lord, help me consider those you put in my path and spur them on!

Psalm 61:5

 For you have heard my vows, Oh God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.

Psalm 61:5

Many people take offense when you say anything about fearing God. They will quickly say this is "old time" thinking, because God is love.

The writers at gotquestions.com answer this best, "For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe."

Reverence and awe of God. I don't find that a point in many sermons today. The psalmist tells us that God heard that vow we made to serve Him, and in return there is an inheritance for those who fear (have awe and reverence) your name.

The writers at gotquestions.com go on to say, "Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe."

This may be the key to this verse, when you made that vow to follow God, did it change the way you live? Do you weight your actions on the basis of are they pleasing to God.

You see my friend, He heard and hears you. Does He see a awe and reverence in what you do? Do you weigh everything in light of His word? I've heard people say, "Well, I've got fire insurance." Yikes! I don't think that is being a Christ follower.

Alistair Begg said it so eloquently, "Gathering with the 'Jesus crowd,' being able to say all the 'Jesus words,' singing all the 'Jesus songs' is no ticket of admission into heaven."

He hears us, carries such deep meaning. I pray I'm walking worthy of His name.

Psalm 90:12

 A few weeks ago I saw a tic tok video where the man was talking about his parents aging. He lived across the country from them. He talked about coming to the realization that he would see them about 15 more times in his life. Sobering thought!

It was odd to come across the video, because Dan and I had recently discussed that we are at the winter of life. Somedays that thought hits me hard.

Now this came on the heels of Alistair Begg asking his church to pray for singer, Paul Simon. Begg was greatly influenced by music as a lad and often incorporates musical lyrics in his sermons.

Begg's sermon started me thinking about the music of my own life. Surely, it is filled with Bad Company, Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Lynard Skynard, and the Allman Brothers band. This trip down memory lane had me contemplating my "days".

Which brings me to yesterday.

As I listened to ABB I came across Gregg's last recording which was released after his death. "My Only True Friend" is a haunting song of the end of life with such lines as:

"You and I both know this river will surely flow to an end..."

"Still on and on I run it feels like home is just around the bend

I got so much left to give

But I'm running out of time, my friend"

As I listened to the song on repeat yesterday, and I wondered if anyone ever shared with Gregg that this life isn't the end. I hope so.

Friend, as I'm "numbering my days", I'm in deep thought on the mark I'll make. Gregg's song says, "I hope you're haunted by the music of my soul...When I'm gone."

I want my song to be Jesus. I want to spend the next few years serving Him. I don't need travel, we wore the road out in our younger years. If God intends for me to teach, then I want to have the energy and physical strength to be the best. If God intends me to write on a larger scale then that's what I want to do.

In the words of Henry Martyn, "I want to burn out for God."

So Lord, teach me to number my days that I can gain wisdom, because I know that this life is not the end of the road - it is only the beginning.

Genesis 50:20

 As you've traveled this life have you ever felt like another person has treated you unfairly? Maybe you've even felt targeted in your treatment. Well there is a lot we can learn from the life of Joseph.

You see I'm one of those people who hates change. I'll hang in no matter the circumstances or treatment because the alternative is change.

For a person who hates change, the last three years have been nothing but change. God has given us a snapshot of how our circumstances are filtered by God's hand in the story of Joseph. Samuel Emadi wrote, "Within Reformed circles, preachers often use Joseph merely to illustrate how divine sovereignty and human responsibility intersect..."

Emadi goes on to say, "God’s sovereignty figures largely in the Joseph story because God wants us to see how he puts himself in impossible situations and yet finds a way to keep his covenant promises."

If you know me you know I filter all of life through God's sovereign plan for me. I can't even begin to tell you how this helps me face each day.

The last three years have been nothing but change. I've changed jobs, churches, and my diet, and one thing I can bank on is I'm going to continue changing.

Friend, we all pray, "God use me." We heroically sing the words of Isaiah, "Here am I send me," but secretly add "just don't make it painful."

So you may ask, "What caused this reflective moment?" The answer - an eye exam.

Seriously, I felt like the lyrics in a Johnny Nash song,

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind..."

Don't get me wrong I know hard days will come, but I also know that the same God who has allowed the hard days in the past three years will be there using them for my good.

Philippians 1:6

 There is an old Southern gospel song, "I Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now." This morning while studying the life of Elijah a deeper meaning came forth.

"All of his life set the stage for the life God had planned for him." (Shirer, p. 35) That was so deep and I had to read it twice. See I learned a lot about God in my 26 years in Oklahoma. My formattable years.

Carter County, Oklahoma is where I'm from.

Carter County, Oklahoma is where my heart was formed.

Carter County, Oklahoma is where my own personal set of trials and difficulties became a start a process, a process of living and thinking and navigating my journey by faith. (adapted from Shirer p. 37)

Wow! Just WOW! God prepared me for this journey in those early years. Shirer says, "Elijah's whole life was about to become a clear, bold declaration of God's power and provision. And so is yours."

So me...I'll just be over here thanking God for my journey this far and trusting that He is using every part of this journey to form me into His image!

Quote - Beggs

 

Psalm 4:3

 Yesterday, this verse literally jumped out of the Bible at me! I know the Lord hears our prayers, but some how as I read this it just hit hard!

If I could get one thing across to those I encounter it would be this, "the Lord will hear when I call unto Him." What an incredible promise!

I assigned faith building novels as summer reading this year. Why? Because we all need to be AMAZED by grace. We need to know that in our darkest hour we are not alone - there is a Redeemer.

My prayer was that it these novels were read as a family. To encourage everyone. Both novels include mighty works of God for ordinary people. And this is where I may be crazy, I believe He still does this today.

I don't think Corrie ten Boom or Brother Andrew would say they were super Christians. I think they are just ordinary people who believed God was who He says He is.

Friend, if you've been set apart by God as His own, then He hears you. And that is a game changer.

Psalm 17:6

 "...hear my prayer." A quick Google search says there are 450 instances of this phrase in the Bible. My quick search Sunday gave me 24.

The Hebrew word for God who hears is El Shama. "Though ‘El Shama’ is not an official name of God, it refers to the fact that God hears…He listens." (Elizabeth Prata)

Matthew Henry wrote of this verse, "Those who would proceed and persevere in the ways of God, must, by faith prayer, get daily fresh supplies of grace and strength from him. Show thy marvelous loving-kindness, distinguishing favors, not common mercies, but be gracious to me; do as thou used to do to those who love thy name."

Friend, I don't know about you, but there is something humbling that happens when I realize the God of the Universe hears ME! He cares for me personally enough to listen.

There is a Latin term, Coram Deo, which means “before the face of God” or “in the presence of God.” The writer at gotquestions.com states, "To live one’s life “before God” (coram Deo) is a scriptural concept, as the Lord is omnipresent and perceives our every action and thought."

If we just for a moment could comprehend the meaning of this. We are quick to throw around "I'll pray for you"; however, do we really comprehend the magnitude of what we are saying. I hope so.

Have a terrific day and remember Coram Deo. You are in his presence and He hears you!

Ecclesiastes 12:1

 I am one of those unique individuals who trouble came in my youth. At 14, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, by 18 she was dead. Mine was not a typical youth; however, I was taught from birth that there is a God who made me for His purpose and His plan for my life.

So whether good times or bad the one thing we can count on young or old is time flies by. Erma Bombeck said, "Time, it hangs heavy for the bored, eludes the busy, flies by for the young, and runs out for the aged.” Most of us understand the brevity of life.

Of course we all know, that no matter our age, time is passing. Now in the sunset of life I sometimes contemplate my earlier days and decisions. The Teacher is telling us, "Beware of allowing the best years of your life to pass while you’re waiting for them to begin."

I was so guilty of this in my 20's and 30's. Sometimes I look back and think, "I wish I'd of enjoyed this or that more."

But Begg's says of this verse we are being called to know God more. He says it like this,, "Okay. “Remember your Creator.” Know him, love him, serve him as your highest joy."

It is wise then for us to number our days. The psalmist, in Psalm 90, says, “Teach us to number our days aright, [so] that we might gain a heart of wisdom.”

Then, my friend, we have circled back to the age old question, "What are you going to do with Jesus?" All of scripture points to Him. Without Him our lives are as the Teacher says, "Meaningless." And that might be the saddest end of all.

Psalm 28:6-7

 Today I've pondered why the Psalms are full of reminders that God hears us? My quick search found 11 in the Psalms alone.

In verses 6 notice the word because. David's praise to God had a reason. Spurgeon said, “Real praise is established upon sufficient and constraining reasons; it is not irrational emotion, but rises, like a pure spring, from the deeps of experience.”

You might want to read that twice. We are so busy trying to work up emotions in order to praise God, when there is enough to praise Him for in our daily living.

As a young girl when my mom got sick I asked my Grandmother, "Why us?" Why had cancer come to our house? Hadn't we prayed? Her answer was classic Alice and has stuck with me all my life, "Why not us?"

I spent a good five years running from God instead of to Him. As the old saying goes, "I couldn't see the forest for the trees." And only when I, like David, cried out to Him, acknowledging who He is did I find Him to be my strength and shield.

Friend, He is either God of all things or God of nothing. And as the Psalm goes, "My heart trusted in Him and I was helped."

Psalm 54:2

 Things aren't going great for David when we get to Psalm 54, but know what he does at the beginning of the Psalm.

"O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth." (54:2)

Alice used to say, "Where are you going to go but to the Lord?"

One of my favorite verses is in Jeremiah 12:5, “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"

So friend what are you going to do if the Jordan gets deep? Well the Psalms tell us what David did, he went to God for help and he gives us the assurance over and over that God heard him.

Life can throw us curve balls and plot shifts all the time, but the one thing we know is God is consistent and unchanging. The God of David is our God. What a privilege it is to call on Him and know He hears us.

Psalm 34

 Psalm 34 is one of my favorites maybe because I sing it every morning going to work. It is hidden in my heart.

On those morning rides I'm sure I sound like the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. However, one day I will join the heavenly choir singing it unto Him. What a day that will be!

Yesterday, I watched the NFL Hall of Fame induction. I was inspired by DeMarcus Ware giving credit to God and the testimony he shared. I was saddened that the others gave little or no mention to Him, it was all them and their work ethic.

These were Men used to accolades and roaring crowds, yet what they have experienced will be nothing in comparison to heaven.

Philippians 2:9-11 says, "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Yes, my friend, one day, if we are saved, we will all sing this with new meaning. Why? Because praise God, one day this poor girl cried and the Lord heard me and it made all the difference in the world.

Psalm 6:9

Psalm 18:6

 As I watch our world spiral I wonder why God would bother with us. Then I read these verses and am overcome with the thought God hears me, He not only hears but answers.

Matthew Henry stated, "David was a praying man, and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did."

The use of the word "speed" gave me pause, so I went and looked it up. It means, "make prosperous or successful."

If we pray like David we will be successful. What loving-kindness our God has toward us. Such grace and mercy are hard to comprehend.

My own children, over the years, have done and said things that cut deep in my mother's heart. Yet, I never stopped loving them, caring for them, or wanting them to succeed. Now my love for my own children is so minute compared to God's love for us.

So when we have a God who loves us endlessly, why do we fail to set aside time to talk to Him, commune with Him, and catch a glimpse of His immense love for us.

Friend, I keep going back to the thought, that we don't understand who He is. The only way to fix that is read our Bible's and pray to Him to reveal Himself to us. Are we really too busy for that?

Psalm 66:19

 Sinclair Ferguson is quoted as saying, "If Christ abides in us and we abide in him, as his word dwells in us, and we pray in his name, that God hears us (Jn 15:4-7). But all of these expressions are simply extensions of the one fundamental idea: If I am united to Christ, then all that is his is mine. So long as my heart, will and mind are one with Christ's in his word, I can approach God with the humble confidence that my prayers will be heard and answered. "

I can't think of a greater blessing than to know the Creator of the Universe hears me. Matthew Henry wrote, "And when we pray in simplicity and godly sincerity, our prayers will be answered. This will excite gratitude to Him who hath not turned away our prayer nor his mercy from us. It was not prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent it. That is the foundation of our hopes, the fountain of our comforts; and ought to be the matter of our praises."

Years (I mean years) ago I went to a Bible Study on A.C.T.S. an acronym to teach us to pray.

A- adoration

C - confession

T - thanksgiving

S - supplication

Notice this type of praying starts acknowledging who God is and our need for His grace and mercy long before we ever get to our request. The psalmist understood this.

RC Sproul said, "Unfortunately, we often spell our prayer life something like S.C.A.T., because we start with supplication and spend very little time, if any, on adoration, confession, and thanksgiving."

How true that is! We are more like the Babbie Mason song,

"So gimme this, I want that

Bless me, Lord, I pray

Grant me what I think I need

To make another day

Make me wealthy, keep me healthy

Fill in what I miss

On my never-ending shopping list"

Instead of acknowledging God we just want Him to fix it (whatever it is).

Keith Green wrote a beautiful praise song that looks at prayer from God's point of view:

"For when I hear the praises start

Oh, I wanna rain upon you

Blessings that will fill your heart

I see no stain upon you

Because you are My child and you know Me

To Me you're only holy

Nothing that you've done remains

Only what you do for Me"

Oh Friend, when was the last time you spent time just praising God for who He is. I still think life with Jesus would change dramatically if we grasp a fraction of who He is.

Like the Apostle Paul, " Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14-15)

Why does it matter? Because I want to be a pleasing child until that final day.

The Word of the Week is Salad!

 I am two weeks into a week of trying new salads. Our local nutritionist, Jen, is sponsoring it. So far it has been interesting. 

I have known for a while that I've got to get my anti-oxidants up, or a least figure out why I can't get the numbers to move!

Day 1 salad

Day 2

Day 3

Weight - A Journey

This morning I wrote my devotional about trusting God. Within 2 hours I was defeated and down-cast, why? Well, I weighed! In the last 30 days, I have lost and gained exactly 6 pounds. This has been my theme song since January. I was devastated. 

How can others make it look easy? Yet, when I talk or read about those who are successful in the weight-loss game, they testify it isn't easy.

I fixed my protein drink and sat down to read. This is what I read:

"You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light." 2 Samuel 22:29

Well surely darkness was falling on me! So I turned the page in the devotional to this:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Coincident, I think not! 

I have no idea why God is making this so difficult for me. Friend, I'm doing all the right things counting calories, trying to add more fruits and vegetables, yet it is like this weight is trapped on me, and I question God. But why?

Elizabeth Elliot once said, “This hard place in which you perhaps find yourself is the very place in which God is giving you opportunity to look only to Him, to spend time in prayer, and to learn long-suffering, gentleness, meekness – in short, to learn the depths of the love that Christ Himself has poured out on all of us.”

So in this journey He is teaching me! To learn trust, long-suffering, and the depths of His love. May my prayer be like the man in Mark 9, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Remember Lot's wife

 Yesterday as I was getting ready for a lovely lunch with some of my new church ladies, I caught myself looking back. Leaving a church of 23 years has been hard on my heart, and for a second I thought of the "should have beens."

As I entered the land of "should have been" I instantly thought of Lot' wife. You see looking back for her was not an option and in so doing God turned her into a pillar of salt! Why? Because according to gotquestions.org, "This was more than just a glance over the shoulder; it was a look of longing that indicated reluctance to leave or a desire to return." 

Thankfully, I've been blessed with friends who reminded me that if I looked back with longing I'd miss the here and now. Also, I'd miss the blessings in front of me. As I ate with my new sisters in Christ, I heard wonderful stories of God's faithfulness throughout their lives. What a blessing!  

CS Lewis wrote in 1963 in a letter to a dying woman, "Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (3:12)

Matthew Henry wrote, "He forgot the things which were behind, so as not to be content with past labours or present measures of grace. He reached forth, stretched himself forward towards his point..."

Lord, I don't want to look back other than to remember your goodness to me. Instead I want to be like Paul looking forward. Friend, I pray you aren't looking back, but instead looking forward. Press on!

Keep Your Confidence

 ...but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. 

Daniel 2:28 

As you go into chapter 2 of Daniel the message is the same it is God who is in control of all things.  Alastair Begg calls chapter 2 in his book "Keep Your Confidence." See Daniel had long before he was in need of God's help learned who God was. The situation did not overcome the ultimate outcome.

As I pondered chapter 2 I wondered how I can truly believe in a Sovereign God. There is no doubt in me where He is concerned. I truly believe He is in control of all situations, but how do I believe it? Why is my belief in this one characteristic of God so different than others I know?

So last night I pondered. Was it from being raised by Alice? Who instilled in me the phrase, "Where are you going to go but to the Lord?" Is it from the multitude of biographies of strong Christians I've read?

Elizabeth Elliott once wrote, “The Auca story …. Has pointed to one thing: God is God. If he is God, he is worthy of my worship, and my service. I will find rest nowhere but in his will, and that will is infinitely, immeasurably, unspeakably beyond my largest nothings of what he is up to. God is the God of human history, and he is at work continuously, mysteriously, accomplishing his eternal purposes in us, through us, for us, and in spite of us. … Cause and effect are in God’s hands. Is it not the part of faith simply to let them rest there? God is God. I dethrone him in my heart if I demand that he act in ways that satisfy my idea of justice. … The one who laid the earth’s foundations and settled its dimensions knows where the lines are drawn. He gives all the light we need for trust and obedience.” (Through Gates of Splendor, pgs. 268-269, 273)

Daniel got it! I've been blessed with that confidence that He is capable of holding it all together. So my pondering led me to this answer - it is a gift. I have been blessed by God!

Friend, in who is your confidence placed? The God of Daniel, strong and mighty, or the God of your own making. 

 A new week ahead of us full of opportunity. I don't know how you feel, but I want to make it count for Him.

We start standardized testing this week, so schedules will be interrupted. Exhaustion will be real. Yet, in the midst of all the hurrying, waiting, and fretting God still speaks.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." Psalm 32:8

What comfort we have in this verse. First, it might help to know the difference in God's omnipotence and His manifest presence. When I'm looking for answers to specific questions got questions.org is a great resource. 

They state, "God’s omnipresence is His attribute of being everywhere at once. He is omnipresent even when we do not experience His presence; He is here, even if we do not recognize Him. God’s manifest presence is, of course, His presence made manifest—the fact that He is with us is made clear and convincing."

I find great comfort in the fact that God granted me the ability to see Him at work in all things. At the age of 60 I became aware that there are many people who declare themselves Christians, but do not believe He is in control of ALL things. This still flabbergastes me!

The article in got questions.org goes on to say, "We know of God’s manifest presence experientially. The manifest presence of the Spirit may not be visible or aural or able to be sensed physically, but His presence is experienced nonetheless. At the times of His choosing, the Spirit manifests His presence, and our theological knowledge becomes an experiential knowledge. Creedal acquaintance becomes loving familiarity."

I have a busy week. What comfort I find knowing that God's eyes are upon me!

Grace

 Fredrick Buechner once wrote, “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”

Some days it is easy to wake up and concentrate on the evil around us, to the point we miss the grace of God. 

Yesterday, we had a discussion on which is more important written word or the authors meaning. I said the author's meaning. Think about that a moment!

When I study God's Word I am concerned with the words, but ultimately it is what He means by those words that changes me. Psalm 119:130, "The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."

So, when I read the many verses on grace I get the surface meaning, but it is only by repeated study that God allows me to become enlightened on the depth of that meaning. And that too is grace.

I still am unsure how grace works, but I can promise you it does. That in this life in your weakest moment he will give you more than enough grace. What a great God we serve!  

 Alice-isms...I was raised with them.

"Be sure your sins will find you out."

"Treat others the way you want to be treated.

"They haven't hung you on a cross yet, so your good."

"All but by the grace of God goes you."

Alice didn't play. She didn't show fear. She had a "take the bull by the horns attitude." Weakness was never an option. If you grew weary "in your walk" then pray. 

I come from what you'd call a "strong matriarchal family." The women in my family were not weak! My great-grandmother would say, "The man is the head of the house, but the woman is the neck and turns the head." These gals were tough! My grandmother had five sisters and an ex-sister-in-law who was her best friend. My uncle's wife, Aunt Ruby, could hang right with them. 

They were a different family. Tougher than boot-leather, but literally oozed Jesus.

I've gotten to the age I speak Alice! I never has thought I was tough as them, but life has proved otherwise. I look back and I can't help but think how blessed I've been! Yet, at the same time I'm sad I didn't get to share them with my kids, because stories just aren't enough.

Friend, what are you leaving behind?

Children are a gift from God.

 "This is what the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." Jeremiah 31:15

About two years ago I had one of the strangest experiences. As I walked in the building I passed three classrooms, it was before school, and in every classroom ALL the students were looking at their phones. It was weird! However, in that moment the Holy Spirit pierced my soul and laid Jeremiah 31:15 on my heart.

Sadly, it was a feeling I haven't been able to shake. Since that day, numerous things have been on the news regarding school incidents in Georgia. With just this week WSB reported on a 14 year old in Glascock County facing possible felony charges over a picture on his phone taken of another student.

Psalm 127:3 says, "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him."

 Physically, mentally and spiritually caring for our children should be a #1 priority of everyone. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. As this year has progressed I've been saddened by the "scuttlebutt" I hear from students about things going around on their social media accounts. Friend, it is shocking! I'm talking 12, 13 and 14 year old kids!

Recently our church has decided to put on a conference entitled, "Growing God's Gifts."  This conference will deal with the impact social media is having on our children (yes, they are still children).

It amazes me that main-stream media and psychologist all see the ramifications on our youth. Yet, Christian parents are almost confident that their child won't be damaged. 

In an article by Carl Trueman in the Public Discourse he states, "As our dependence on technology reshapes the moral imagination of our culture to see human beings as psychological wills that need not respect material limitations, so the old order that was built upon the vision of human beings as both body and soul will become increasingly implausible. The things that make Christianity stand out from the wider culture—belief in the incarnation, the resurrection, and embodied human nature as a real, universal thing with moral consequences—are antithetical to the terms of membership in the emerging world order."

That is a lot to unpack! If you need help understanding our role in a changing world join us!

Our conference will be April 21-22, 2023 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Covington. 

 Conference Schedule

Friday night: 6pm Dinner; 7pm Samuel D. James

Saturday morning: 9am Coffee & Donuts, 9:30am Angel Shelton

10:30am Panel Discussion

Saturday evening: 7pm D.J. Seals

If you are interested please register online at:

                     https://connectionpointcounseling.org/growing-gods-gift-2023

Or call our church office at 770-787-7493