Friday, March 15, 2019
Just Breathe
Sometimes we roll along and the world doesn't bother us. It seems that we are in complete harmony with the universe...nothing adversarial impending the journey and then BAM!!! Any and everything that could happen absolutely DOES and your standing there in the middle of a wildly spinning vortex frantically searching for the exit but nary an exit can be found. It's in these frantic moments that I have to remind myself who is REALLY in control. I have to remember in whom I put my trust and JUST BREATHE. However, more often than not, that's the last thing I remember to do. I often find that I allow myself to get caught up in the funnel cloud,losing sight of the Peace Speaker. In those moments when I allow the evil one to rob me of my peace I lose sight of the One who sings over me every day, the One who calms my fears with His love. When I allow myself to get stuck in the scary moments and willingly forfeit my peace and find myself breathlessly clawing my way through the swirling winds of the storm I give the evil one control. It's in those moments that my Heavenly Father sends a song, a scripture or someone who loves me across my path to point me back toward Him and I'm reminded to JUST BREATHE...to release the fear and doubt and embrace the promises of the One who loves me best
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Defining moments
In life, there are those moments that define us. Moments that make us who we are or change our course...take us in a different direction. I've been thinking a lot about those kinds of moments lately and I've come to realize that many of them come as a result of a season of trial, doubt, sadness or discontent.
I think most of us go through life wanting to be "happy". We seek happiness. We try to create happiness for ourselves and those we love but what I've learned is happiness is situational. There are events, people, places, things that can make us happy for brief moments but those moments are fleeting. What happens between the "happies". That, my friends is called contentment. How do find contentment, you ask? We find it in the one who brings us peace. The one who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. The source of our joy even in tough times. Contentment is found in Jesus and being firmly planted in the center of His Will for our lives.
I've always heard that we make our own happiness but the facts are we aren't going to be HAPPY every minute of every day because happiness is an emotion brought on by our situation. CONTENTMENT is a state of being. Even in our unhappy moments there is joy and contentment in Jesus but we have to be willing to embrace it. Often times we runaway from contentment in pursuit of happiness. When will we realize that there is no lasting happiness without contentment. It's weird because we often associate content with complacent. Why do we do that? You can be completely content without becoming complacent. Content doesn't mean the absence of pursuit, drive and purpose. I think those things become MORE present when we find our contentment in Christ.
Many times in our walk with Christ we are asked, nudged, required to do things that aren't comfortable. We're asked to step outside of our norm and be brave. Many times, I've resisted...I mean SOOOOOO many times!! When we resist we delay what God has for us or we delay what God has for someone else for which we are the conduit.
Sunday the preacher used a quote from JFK's speech about landing on the moon.
"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too."
Sometimes,Christ wants us to stick with the hard thing simply because it’s hard. It’s like a refiner’s fire. We go through the hard time (fire) so that He can remove all those things that keep us from walking fully in abundant life. The refiner’s fire strips away all the ick which brings forth purity in spirit. It molds us and makes us more in His image and likeness. That refinement is not fun but it’s necessary and we all experiences it at various times throughout life. If we let it, the refinement will draw us closer to Christ and build our faith but we have to willing…even if it’s painful and uncomfortable to see it through and glean from the lessons God has for us. The Refiner’s fire is used to test our endurance of faith. We come out on the other side more radiant and grounded in our faith. We can look back and see all the places where the Father sustained us, gave us mercy, grace and peace. It’s difficult to discern it in the midst of the test but once we’ve come through…WOW!! Christ will ask us to do and be that which is not easy and He asks us to do and be these things BECAUSE they're hard...because doing and being that which He asks is for a greater good, to accomplish His will in our lives and through our lives to touch others. He will make us uncomfortable so that we have nothing else to rely but HIM!
We MUST learn to be content wherever we land! Happiness comes and goes but if we are looking for something to make us happy all the time…we'll spend our entire lives chasing something that isn’t attainable. No one is happy all the time because not all situations are happy. I mean, ya'll ... do you think Jesus wanted to die on the cross? No, He absolutely DID NOT want to go to the cross!! He knew that it was a horrible death. He knew that His Father wouldn't be able to look at Him...that he'd be forsaken, if only for that moment. He even asked if the cup could pass from Him but the answer was no. He had to go. There was a greater good that resulted in His temporary albeit excruciating suffering. Until we commit to Christ completely (even when the times/tasks are hard) we'll continue to chase happiness and contentment will allude us.
What will be THE defining moment in your life?
Psalm 66:10-12
I think most of us go through life wanting to be "happy". We seek happiness. We try to create happiness for ourselves and those we love but what I've learned is happiness is situational. There are events, people, places, things that can make us happy for brief moments but those moments are fleeting. What happens between the "happies". That, my friends is called contentment. How do find contentment, you ask? We find it in the one who brings us peace. The one who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. The source of our joy even in tough times. Contentment is found in Jesus and being firmly planted in the center of His Will for our lives.
I've always heard that we make our own happiness but the facts are we aren't going to be HAPPY every minute of every day because happiness is an emotion brought on by our situation. CONTENTMENT is a state of being. Even in our unhappy moments there is joy and contentment in Jesus but we have to be willing to embrace it. Often times we runaway from contentment in pursuit of happiness. When will we realize that there is no lasting happiness without contentment. It's weird because we often associate content with complacent. Why do we do that? You can be completely content without becoming complacent. Content doesn't mean the absence of pursuit, drive and purpose. I think those things become MORE present when we find our contentment in Christ.
Many times in our walk with Christ we are asked, nudged, required to do things that aren't comfortable. We're asked to step outside of our norm and be brave. Many times, I've resisted...I mean SOOOOOO many times!! When we resist we delay what God has for us or we delay what God has for someone else for which we are the conduit.
Sunday the preacher used a quote from JFK's speech about landing on the moon.
"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too."
Sometimes,Christ wants us to stick with the hard thing simply because it’s hard. It’s like a refiner’s fire. We go through the hard time (fire) so that He can remove all those things that keep us from walking fully in abundant life. The refiner’s fire strips away all the ick which brings forth purity in spirit. It molds us and makes us more in His image and likeness. That refinement is not fun but it’s necessary and we all experiences it at various times throughout life. If we let it, the refinement will draw us closer to Christ and build our faith but we have to willing…even if it’s painful and uncomfortable to see it through and glean from the lessons God has for us. The Refiner’s fire is used to test our endurance of faith. We come out on the other side more radiant and grounded in our faith. We can look back and see all the places where the Father sustained us, gave us mercy, grace and peace. It’s difficult to discern it in the midst of the test but once we’ve come through…WOW!! Christ will ask us to do and be that which is not easy and He asks us to do and be these things BECAUSE they're hard...because doing and being that which He asks is for a greater good, to accomplish His will in our lives and through our lives to touch others. He will make us uncomfortable so that we have nothing else to rely but HIM!
We MUST learn to be content wherever we land! Happiness comes and goes but if we are looking for something to make us happy all the time…we'll spend our entire lives chasing something that isn’t attainable. No one is happy all the time because not all situations are happy. I mean, ya'll ... do you think Jesus wanted to die on the cross? No, He absolutely DID NOT want to go to the cross!! He knew that it was a horrible death. He knew that His Father wouldn't be able to look at Him...that he'd be forsaken, if only for that moment. He even asked if the cup could pass from Him but the answer was no. He had to go. There was a greater good that resulted in His temporary albeit excruciating suffering. Until we commit to Christ completely (even when the times/tasks are hard) we'll continue to chase happiness and contentment will allude us.
What will be THE defining moment in your life?
Psalm 66:10-12
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Transitions
Life is a series of transitions. We're always moving from one season of life into another. Most transitions are gradual and come and go without upsetting our apple carts. They happen quietly and go mostly unnoticed. However, there are those transitions that do upset the apple cart and some turn that sucker upside down and rip the wheels right off. Sometimes the transition is expected so we are able, in our feeble way, to prepare for it. Other transitions are sudden, abrupt and give us no warning or time to prepare. Those are the ones that send me into a tailspin. I do NOT like those transitions. Well, I'm not really a fan of transition at all because that means change and if I wanted things to change, well...
I look back at my life and I don't remember transitioning into adulthood (maybe I never did and that's the problem -LOL) but I can promise you that my folks remember. I know that my mother recalls all those moments of transition. The years I spent establishing who I was going to be and what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I do recall we argued A LOT in the years of my transition from child to young adult. I just don't remember it as a transition...I remember it as my mom trying to ruin my life. ;) My poor dad spent most of those years being a referee/mediator. Now, when I recall those years, I see that it was a time of transition; one that my mom was fighting against and one that I was walking into with wide eyes of wonder and excitement. I think as parents, we all fight that transition. We want to keep our kids close so that we know they are ok but that's not how it works. We know that for God to do His thing in and through our children we have to let them go. UGH!!! It's hard to do but necessary.
Now I find myself on the parental side of the transition as my girl child is spreading her wings and becoming the young woman that God intends. It's waaaaay less fun on this side of that transition. I miss the car rides to and from practices and the nights laying on her bed listening to her tell me about everything going on. I miss being a part of the every day things. Knowing where she is, what she's doing and with whom. Our children go off to college and each time they return home they're a little more grown...a little more independent...a little less willing to share all the goings on and that makes me sad. However, it's exciting to see God at work in their lives...to watch as they become and do all that He has ordained them to become and do. It's most definitely a necessary albeit bittersweet season.
We're still adjusting to having a college kid and she's still adjusting to being a college kid. I couldn't be more proud of the way that our girl is navigating this season in her life. Her first semester of college was, at the very least, challenging. She arrived with a broken hand that just would not heal. She faced several obstacles that would have sent most 18 year olds home to mom and dad but not mine! She got up every day and took care of business...laid her fear and anxiety aside as best she could and worked her plan. She has done a great job "adulting" but I know that every day she "adults" moves her further from me and I know that this is the way it's supposed to be but I don't have to like it now do I?
I love every minute of being a mom to my two gifts! It's hard, exhausting, stressful but my, oh my it's THE best job EVER!! I know beyond any shadow of doubt that I have been a less the perfect mom...less than awesome...at times an absolute hot mess, but I can say that I've done my best to make sure my children know that they are loved...unconditionally. No, I didn't take monthly pictures when they were babies. I couldn't volunteer in their classrooms the I would have liked because I am a working mom. I didn't homeschool. I didn't always write little love notes to put in lunches or backpacks. What I did do is love them. Listen to them. Discipline them and I've told them EVERY SINGLE DAY that I LOVE THEM! Even on the days that I want to strangle them :) they know I love them...because I TELL and SHOW THEM. I hope that someday, when they are old and gray that they will think of me and giggle remembering some silly something I did or said. I hope that the memories they carry with them are sweet and fun and GOOD! Most of all I pray that they can say, "My mom loved me with her whole being and pointed me toward Jesus." If that's all they get from me...that will be enough.
I look back at my life and I don't remember transitioning into adulthood (maybe I never did and that's the problem -LOL) but I can promise you that my folks remember. I know that my mother recalls all those moments of transition. The years I spent establishing who I was going to be and what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I do recall we argued A LOT in the years of my transition from child to young adult. I just don't remember it as a transition...I remember it as my mom trying to ruin my life. ;) My poor dad spent most of those years being a referee/mediator. Now, when I recall those years, I see that it was a time of transition; one that my mom was fighting against and one that I was walking into with wide eyes of wonder and excitement. I think as parents, we all fight that transition. We want to keep our kids close so that we know they are ok but that's not how it works. We know that for God to do His thing in and through our children we have to let them go. UGH!!! It's hard to do but necessary.
Now I find myself on the parental side of the transition as my girl child is spreading her wings and becoming the young woman that God intends. It's waaaaay less fun on this side of that transition. I miss the car rides to and from practices and the nights laying on her bed listening to her tell me about everything going on. I miss being a part of the every day things. Knowing where she is, what she's doing and with whom. Our children go off to college and each time they return home they're a little more grown...a little more independent...a little less willing to share all the goings on and that makes me sad. However, it's exciting to see God at work in their lives...to watch as they become and do all that He has ordained them to become and do. It's most definitely a necessary albeit bittersweet season.
We're still adjusting to having a college kid and she's still adjusting to being a college kid. I couldn't be more proud of the way that our girl is navigating this season in her life. Her first semester of college was, at the very least, challenging. She arrived with a broken hand that just would not heal. She faced several obstacles that would have sent most 18 year olds home to mom and dad but not mine! She got up every day and took care of business...laid her fear and anxiety aside as best she could and worked her plan. She has done a great job "adulting" but I know that every day she "adults" moves her further from me and I know that this is the way it's supposed to be but I don't have to like it now do I?
I love every minute of being a mom to my two gifts! It's hard, exhausting, stressful but my, oh my it's THE best job EVER!! I know beyond any shadow of doubt that I have been a less the perfect mom...less than awesome...at times an absolute hot mess, but I can say that I've done my best to make sure my children know that they are loved...unconditionally. No, I didn't take monthly pictures when they were babies. I couldn't volunteer in their classrooms the I would have liked because I am a working mom. I didn't homeschool. I didn't always write little love notes to put in lunches or backpacks. What I did do is love them. Listen to them. Discipline them and I've told them EVERY SINGLE DAY that I LOVE THEM! Even on the days that I want to strangle them :) they know I love them...because I TELL and SHOW THEM. I hope that someday, when they are old and gray that they will think of me and giggle remembering some silly something I did or said. I hope that the memories they carry with them are sweet and fun and GOOD! Most of all I pray that they can say, "My mom loved me with her whole being and pointed me toward Jesus." If that's all they get from me...that will be enough.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
A place called home
I grew up in parsonages. For those not familiar with the life of an "itinerant" preacher, a parsonage is the house the parish provides for the pastor and his family. We usually left a parsonage a little better than we found it. My parents always made improvements to any parsonage in which we lived. My dad said it was being a good steward of that which had been provided for us. I never really thought much about it...you know, the fact that we never lived in "our" house.
I was fortunate as a PK, I only moved once with my parents while growing up. Okay, maybe more than that when I was a baby but only one that I remember. In light of that fact, I guess I never really grew attached to the houses in which we lived...then Dad died and everything changed.
I began to remember and reflect. I could recall the smells of the parsonage at Fincastle, where I spent my early childhood. I thought about all the things that, in my eyes, made that house so wonderful:the oil furnace, the phone that hung on the kitchen wall, the back porch enclosed to make a laundry room, the basement garage, my room, the small den where we all had our "assigned" seats... all of it! For some reason that parsonage at Fincastle felt like "home" to me after Dad went to Heaven. I'm not sure why but I know that after he left this earth I had a longing to return to that house...to walk through and remember. Sadly, the house had been long since gone. Condemned and torn down but I can look at that lot and still see that house. I still see that aluminum swing set in the back yard. I can see my Dad on the riding lawnmower or working in his garden or climbing up that big ol ham radio antenna pole (which is amazing in and of itself as Dad was extremely phobic about heights). I see it in my minds eye and I smile. I smile because the times were simple then and I didn't have a care in the world. I thought my parents would live forever. I vividly recall my dad finding me in my room sobbing. He sat down beside me and asked me why I was crying. I looked up at him through my tears and said, "I'm worried that you will die." He squeezed me close and said, "That won't happen for a long long time. Don't you worry." I remember thinking to myself the day he died, "I guess it's been a long long time." After he died, I wanted to go "home" and remember. I wanted to touch all those things again. Walk all those halls again but I couldn't..."home" was gone. It was just an empty field.
I've come to realize that "home" is not really anywhere on this earth. Sure, I enjoying living in our beautiful home where all our "stuff" is stored/used and where we sleep, eat and make memories with family and friends. The bottom line...this earth is not our home. Our home is with the Father.
It's been said "you can't go home again", well that may be so but we haven't yet been "home". While we live in houses here that we call home there is another place...a beautiful place. A place where there is no more pain and sorrow, sickness and disease, no worry or strife. A place where we will hug the necks of those who have been waiting for us to arrive. Heaven...a place called HOME.
I was fortunate as a PK, I only moved once with my parents while growing up. Okay, maybe more than that when I was a baby but only one that I remember. In light of that fact, I guess I never really grew attached to the houses in which we lived...then Dad died and everything changed.
I began to remember and reflect. I could recall the smells of the parsonage at Fincastle, where I spent my early childhood. I thought about all the things that, in my eyes, made that house so wonderful:the oil furnace, the phone that hung on the kitchen wall, the back porch enclosed to make a laundry room, the basement garage, my room, the small den where we all had our "assigned" seats... all of it! For some reason that parsonage at Fincastle felt like "home" to me after Dad went to Heaven. I'm not sure why but I know that after he left this earth I had a longing to return to that house...to walk through and remember. Sadly, the house had been long since gone. Condemned and torn down but I can look at that lot and still see that house. I still see that aluminum swing set in the back yard. I can see my Dad on the riding lawnmower or working in his garden or climbing up that big ol ham radio antenna pole (which is amazing in and of itself as Dad was extremely phobic about heights). I see it in my minds eye and I smile. I smile because the times were simple then and I didn't have a care in the world. I thought my parents would live forever. I vividly recall my dad finding me in my room sobbing. He sat down beside me and asked me why I was crying. I looked up at him through my tears and said, "I'm worried that you will die." He squeezed me close and said, "That won't happen for a long long time. Don't you worry." I remember thinking to myself the day he died, "I guess it's been a long long time." After he died, I wanted to go "home" and remember. I wanted to touch all those things again. Walk all those halls again but I couldn't..."home" was gone. It was just an empty field.
I've come to realize that "home" is not really anywhere on this earth. Sure, I enjoying living in our beautiful home where all our "stuff" is stored/used and where we sleep, eat and make memories with family and friends. The bottom line...this earth is not our home. Our home is with the Father.
It's been said "you can't go home again", well that may be so but we haven't yet been "home". While we live in houses here that we call home there is another place...a beautiful place. A place where there is no more pain and sorrow, sickness and disease, no worry or strife. A place where we will hug the necks of those who have been waiting for us to arrive. Heaven...a place called HOME.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Myrtle
The 2016 holiday season was filled with nostalgia. Okay, okay, I know...all of them have been that way since Dad died but this year was especially poignant for me because I lost another very dear loved one.
Cassie Tanner passed away on Thanksgiving morning. It was news I never wanted to hear about my beloved "Myrtle". She was 95 years old and remained fiercely independent until the very end. I can't exactly recall when she officially grabbed this special place in my heart, I just know that I can't remember not knowing and loving her. Ours lives became intertwined through church work. I was a young(ish) first time staff member (director of youth and children) and she was the long time AA and bookkeeper. When I arrived in Hinesville, GA, Cassie was already in her 70s but you'd never have known it! She was sharp as a tack with a wit and charm to match! She was a southern lady in the truest sense of that term. I loved her immediately, although I think I had to grow on her but I did and she became one of my dearest and most trusted friends and THE most awesome roommate! We shared a very special bond.
Once we moved to the Atlanta area it was more difficult to visit in person but she was only a phone call away. She was always a night owl, which is one of the reason she and I were perfectly matched as roomies, so I would wait until the kids were in bed and the house was relatively quiet to call her. Often, she'd be watching David Letterman or the late news when I'd call. We'd talk for an hour sometimes two. Then, as we'd start to hang up...we'd both pause and one or the other of us would say, "I love you". I always loved how Cass told me she loved me...there was always a tone of intention. She meant for me to know that she loved me. Cassie was not a "gusher". She didn't throw words around all willy-nilly but when she said those three words to me...I knew she meant them.
I could go on and on about all the reason I treasure Cassie and the years spent knowing and loving her but I will save that for another time, perhaps. What I do want to say is that knowing her, loving her, being with her, having her trust me and confide in me and love me as if I was one of her very own forever changed the pattern of my life's tapestry. She made the colors of my life richer and deeper. She showed me the depth of true friendship...a shared bond that isn't diminished by time and space. I love Cassie...yes, LOVE in the present tense. Just because she is gone from my sight and removed from my reach doesn't change my love for her; that love reaches across the veil and will until we are together again in Heaven.
I miss her voice. I miss our talks. I miss knowing that she's rambling around at the Plantation. I miss my friend...immensely.
Hey Myrrrrrrtle...it's Les! I love you!
Cassie Tanner passed away on Thanksgiving morning. It was news I never wanted to hear about my beloved "Myrtle". She was 95 years old and remained fiercely independent until the very end. I can't exactly recall when she officially grabbed this special place in my heart, I just know that I can't remember not knowing and loving her. Ours lives became intertwined through church work. I was a young(ish) first time staff member (director of youth and children) and she was the long time AA and bookkeeper. When I arrived in Hinesville, GA, Cassie was already in her 70s but you'd never have known it! She was sharp as a tack with a wit and charm to match! She was a southern lady in the truest sense of that term. I loved her immediately, although I think I had to grow on her but I did and she became one of my dearest and most trusted friends and THE most awesome roommate! We shared a very special bond.
Once we moved to the Atlanta area it was more difficult to visit in person but she was only a phone call away. She was always a night owl, which is one of the reason she and I were perfectly matched as roomies, so I would wait until the kids were in bed and the house was relatively quiet to call her. Often, she'd be watching David Letterman or the late news when I'd call. We'd talk for an hour sometimes two. Then, as we'd start to hang up...we'd both pause and one or the other of us would say, "I love you". I always loved how Cass told me she loved me...there was always a tone of intention. She meant for me to know that she loved me. Cassie was not a "gusher". She didn't throw words around all willy-nilly but when she said those three words to me...I knew she meant them.
I could go on and on about all the reason I treasure Cassie and the years spent knowing and loving her but I will save that for another time, perhaps. What I do want to say is that knowing her, loving her, being with her, having her trust me and confide in me and love me as if I was one of her very own forever changed the pattern of my life's tapestry. She made the colors of my life richer and deeper. She showed me the depth of true friendship...a shared bond that isn't diminished by time and space. I love Cassie...yes, LOVE in the present tense. Just because she is gone from my sight and removed from my reach doesn't change my love for her; that love reaches across the veil and will until we are together again in Heaven.
I miss her voice. I miss our talks. I miss knowing that she's rambling around at the Plantation. I miss my friend...immensely.
Hey Myrrrrrrtle...it's Les! I love you!
Monday, April 11, 2016
When life hands you lemons...
This journey called life is a beautiful broken journey. It's full of ups and downs, highs and lows and everything in between. When the journey is your own, it's often easier to deal with those peaks and dips but when it's happening around you to those you hold dear...well that's a totally different perspective.
The old adage, "when life hands you lemons make lemonade" comes to mind. It sounds so simple and yet so difficult. When life hands us lemons, the knee jerk reaction is to FIX IT! Fix that "thing", that situation or circumstance so that it goes the way WE see fit. GO RIGHT NOW AND FIIIIIIIIX IT! I've found that my attempts to "fix" usually just make things worse. Instead of rushing out to fix it the better thing to do is BE STILL. Just take a breath, be still and know that HE IS GOD! Nothing that happens in this life ever takes God by surprise! NOTHING!!! NO THING>>>EVER! He doesn't cause everything to happen but it all passes through His hands. He allows some things to teach us and help us grow. Other things happen because we try to control our own destiny instead of waiting and trusting...OH BOY, AM I EVER GUILTY OF THIS ONE!!! When you're in the middle of the "lemons" it's hard to see the way out so we just start stomping through those lemons all the while squirting that acidic juice in our wound/hurt/circumstance/situation, that only makes the hurt/circumstance/wound/situation worse! It only causes it to burn more...so did it help to stomp through the lemons? Nope, not one bit!
I struggle because, frankly, I'm a stomper and the older I get the more "stompy" I am! I know it and those close to me know it. If something is wrong I say confront and move on but that isn't always what God wants us to do. Yes, sometimes a little stomp through the lemons is what needs to happen. Confrontation isn't bad because it brings change but the confrontation doesn't have to be caustic - well timed confrontation brings about healthy and needed change. So when I feel the need to STOMP, that's the moment that I need to stop...take a breath...and BE STILL in His presence. Just wait and listen for His voice. Wait for His guidance; His Word...just be still and wait. If we wait for God's timing...the lemonade will be so much sweeter than if it was made by stomping through the lemons.
Lord, I know you're try to teach me to wait on You and to trust Your timing. It's so hard sometimes because what we see doesn't always match what we are claiming and believing. In those moments, we must simply be still and wait...and trust. I'm learning to trust You more, Lord Jesus but I still have a ways to go. Father, help me not to stomp through the lemons but wait on You because waiting on You makes the lemonade sooooo much sweeter.
So, Lord, when life hands us/ME lemons help us/ME just to step back and wait on You and not run ahead and make a sticky mess. In this life, there WILL BE LEMONS but oh what sweet lemonade YOU CAN MAKE if only we/I will BE STILL and WAIT, TRUSTING that You are already there!
Still learning to wait and trust,
Your beloved "stomper"
The old adage, "when life hands you lemons make lemonade" comes to mind. It sounds so simple and yet so difficult. When life hands us lemons, the knee jerk reaction is to FIX IT! Fix that "thing", that situation or circumstance so that it goes the way WE see fit. GO RIGHT NOW AND FIIIIIIIIX IT! I've found that my attempts to "fix" usually just make things worse. Instead of rushing out to fix it the better thing to do is BE STILL. Just take a breath, be still and know that HE IS GOD! Nothing that happens in this life ever takes God by surprise! NOTHING!!! NO THING>>>EVER! He doesn't cause everything to happen but it all passes through His hands. He allows some things to teach us and help us grow. Other things happen because we try to control our own destiny instead of waiting and trusting...OH BOY, AM I EVER GUILTY OF THIS ONE!!! When you're in the middle of the "lemons" it's hard to see the way out so we just start stomping through those lemons all the while squirting that acidic juice in our wound/hurt/circumstance/situation, that only makes the hurt/circumstance/wound/situation worse! It only causes it to burn more...so did it help to stomp through the lemons? Nope, not one bit!
I struggle because, frankly, I'm a stomper and the older I get the more "stompy" I am! I know it and those close to me know it. If something is wrong I say confront and move on but that isn't always what God wants us to do. Yes, sometimes a little stomp through the lemons is what needs to happen. Confrontation isn't bad because it brings change but the confrontation doesn't have to be caustic - well timed confrontation brings about healthy and needed change. So when I feel the need to STOMP, that's the moment that I need to stop...take a breath...and BE STILL in His presence. Just wait and listen for His voice. Wait for His guidance; His Word...just be still and wait. If we wait for God's timing...the lemonade will be so much sweeter than if it was made by stomping through the lemons.
Lord, I know you're try to teach me to wait on You and to trust Your timing. It's so hard sometimes because what we see doesn't always match what we are claiming and believing. In those moments, we must simply be still and wait...and trust. I'm learning to trust You more, Lord Jesus but I still have a ways to go. Father, help me not to stomp through the lemons but wait on You because waiting on You makes the lemonade sooooo much sweeter.
So, Lord, when life hands us/ME lemons help us/ME just to step back and wait on You and not run ahead and make a sticky mess. In this life, there WILL BE LEMONS but oh what sweet lemonade YOU CAN MAKE if only we/I will BE STILL and WAIT, TRUSTING that You are already there!
Still learning to wait and trust,
Your beloved "stomper"
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Dad chose Jesus
For the past 3 and half-ish years, I've been asking "why"... why did Dad die? How could Jesus take him away from us when He knew how much we loved him? Why didn't God intervene and raise Dad up and make him whole in this world? I've spent more time than I should have asking these questions and yes, at times, doubting God's love and goodness. What I've come to realize is this; God didn't "take" Dad...
My mom shared a story with me and at the time I was like, "yeah, yeah, Dad chose Jesus...duh, that's why he's a preacher" but as that story has replayed in my mind over the last few years it finally sunk in...
My dad was always telling us how much he loved us - we never doubted his deep, abiding love for us. Mom was telling me about a conversation she and my dad had many years ago before I was born. She and Dad were talking about ministry and he expressed to her how much he loved her and what she meant to him then he came the "BUT"... "but if I ever have to choose between you and Jesus and what He's called me to do, I'll choose Jesus." At first thought, I was offended that Dad would say that to her but then I realized that's what God calls us to...to leave ALL earthly things/people/places and follow Him. Dad loved Mom and me with ALL of his heart...but his first love was Jesus...just as it should have been. I realize now, that my Dad didn't love the things of this world - he loved people and his desire was to lead them to Jesus...show them Jesus...be the hands, feet and heart of Jesus to all he encountered.
As I reflect on those words, I am reminded again that Jesus didn't "take" Dad from us...Dad CHOSE to go be with Jesus when given the chance. I shared this thought during the service dedicating the library at Cornerstone Church in Dad's memory. I had never really thought of it nor did I plan to say it, but God gave me those words in that moment and my mom repeated my words back to me at a moment when I was again questioning, "you should listen to your own words sometimes." LOL My Dad made the choice to go and be with Christ - face to face. This Savior whom he'd preached and taught about, this Father whom he'd loved wholeheartedly and served so faithfully - when given the opportunity to choose between this life and the next...Dad chose Jesus. He had made that choice long before that November day when he stood on the cusp of eternity. He chose Jesus and he followed after Him with reckless abandon in life until the day the Father scooped him up and carried him to Glory.
My Dad left me more memories than I could ever write down or tell but the most important thing he left me and all who knew him, was a legacy of love and faith. I knew my entire life that my dad loved me more than anything in THIS world. It made me strong, courageous and confident. How much more strong, courageous and confident I am in the love of Jesus Christ!! My dad didn't just tell folks to "lay down their nets" and follow Jesus...he showed them how to do it and do so with joy!
In the words of "Kojak", "who loves ya,baby?" The answer to that question is God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! He chose to love us even while we were yet sinners...WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE? I CHOOSE JESUS!
My mom shared a story with me and at the time I was like, "yeah, yeah, Dad chose Jesus...duh, that's why he's a preacher" but as that story has replayed in my mind over the last few years it finally sunk in...
My dad was always telling us how much he loved us - we never doubted his deep, abiding love for us. Mom was telling me about a conversation she and my dad had many years ago before I was born. She and Dad were talking about ministry and he expressed to her how much he loved her and what she meant to him then he came the "BUT"... "but if I ever have to choose between you and Jesus and what He's called me to do, I'll choose Jesus." At first thought, I was offended that Dad would say that to her but then I realized that's what God calls us to...to leave ALL earthly things/people/places and follow Him. Dad loved Mom and me with ALL of his heart...but his first love was Jesus...just as it should have been. I realize now, that my Dad didn't love the things of this world - he loved people and his desire was to lead them to Jesus...show them Jesus...be the hands, feet and heart of Jesus to all he encountered.
As I reflect on those words, I am reminded again that Jesus didn't "take" Dad from us...Dad CHOSE to go be with Jesus when given the chance. I shared this thought during the service dedicating the library at Cornerstone Church in Dad's memory. I had never really thought of it nor did I plan to say it, but God gave me those words in that moment and my mom repeated my words back to me at a moment when I was again questioning, "you should listen to your own words sometimes." LOL My Dad made the choice to go and be with Christ - face to face. This Savior whom he'd preached and taught about, this Father whom he'd loved wholeheartedly and served so faithfully - when given the opportunity to choose between this life and the next...Dad chose Jesus. He had made that choice long before that November day when he stood on the cusp of eternity. He chose Jesus and he followed after Him with reckless abandon in life until the day the Father scooped him up and carried him to Glory.
My Dad left me more memories than I could ever write down or tell but the most important thing he left me and all who knew him, was a legacy of love and faith. I knew my entire life that my dad loved me more than anything in THIS world. It made me strong, courageous and confident. How much more strong, courageous and confident I am in the love of Jesus Christ!! My dad didn't just tell folks to "lay down their nets" and follow Jesus...he showed them how to do it and do so with joy!
In the words of "Kojak", "who loves ya,baby?" The answer to that question is God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! He chose to love us even while we were yet sinners...WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE? I CHOOSE JESUS!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)