Loving and Living

My daughter recently learned that she can not take her stuffed baby to heaven and it crushed her heart. She is beautiful and sensitive, and loves her baby deeply. She is attached to an earthly comfort. A small stuffed animal she has slept with since birth.

It is more than just a toy to her, it is also a source of comfort and security. I don't see anything wrong with this at her age because I know that God will work this out in her heart as she grows and matures in life and faith.

As I tried to relate and encourage her, I realized we do the very same thing as grownups.

We work and earn, save and build, tightly hold on to things that can't go any further than deaths doorstep. We fall in love with the temporal and forget the eternal. We find comfort and security in earthly things instead of the creator and giver of all things.

I am grateful for the blessings and delights that come our way, but we have to remember what truly counts. As we work, earn, save, and build, we can not lose sight of the end; the eternal.

All you can take to heaven is people. I desire and pray for God to use me to do just that. It's so easy to follow the world and get caught up in the cycle of obtaining more, more, more.  But we have to step out, break free, be different, and make the most of every gift. Rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross, to lead and guide us each day.

What I really want more of is true, abundant life. Life that comes from watching and being a part of God working every day. In the lives of my children, family, friends, community...

It may be as simple as bringing joy to the elderly, a smile to the grieving, comfort to the hurting, or direction to the lost. Every day is filled with endless opportunities.

My greatest joy is watching God transform a life. Sometimes it has taken years of prayers. Other times it has happened over night.

Never lose hope for the people you love. Never forget the power of prayer. People are most important. That is the only thing we can take with us to heaven. Never stop praying.  My husbands grandfather came to know the Lord at 75 years old.  Prayer is powerful.

I encourage you this week to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow where he leads. Maybe he is asking you to take some one to lunch. Maybe he wants you to visit a family member or reconcile a relationship. Maybe he wants you to invite someone to experience the love, forgiveness, and grace of Jesus Christ. Maybe he wants you to pray for someone.

Just ask him...Humble your heart, slow down, and ask him.

 Then, listen and obey.

It's Not Always Easy

I first read this poem about ten years ago, and it is just as encouraging today as it was then. Hope you have a great weekend. Click to Enlarge if needed. Keep Fighting the Good Fight.

Identity Theft

Do you know who you are in Christ? Do you sometimes forget God’s promises?

From the beginning of time, in the very garden of Eden, we see the ultimate identity theft unfold before our very eyes. The sneaky snake, the one who brings doubt, preys upon the woman, resulting in a ripple effect of sin. Eve lets go of what she knows to be true, and falls straight into the lie of Satan.

And yet, we do the very same thing today.

We want to be strong, secure, and capable people. As a mother, wife, and an endless list of other titles, I seek to accomplish and give my very best in each role. And yet when I try to find my security from within, from my own abilities, I always end up holding on for dear life at the end of my rope. Stressed, tired, and lacking.

And then I’m reminded of who I really am. My identity is not found in me. It’s not found in what I can do or accomplish, or by the opinions of others. My identity is found in Christ alone.  I will never find security in myself. I only find security as a wife, mother, child of God, and so on by falling at the feet of my Savior.

Have you forgotten who you really are? Are you believing the lies of Satan?

I can have one bad “Mothering Moment” and believe I am not good enough, wise enough, or mature enough to be a parent.

That is a lie from Satan.

My marriage can have a weak season and I start to believe it’s beyond repair.

That is a lie from Satan.

I can sin in a moment and decide I’ve let God down and am no longer worthy.

That is a lie from Satan.

I can be consumed with anxiety, worry, fear, and think there is no way out.

That is a lie from Satan.

I can fail at my job, and make a big mistake and think I should not be doing this.

That is a lie from Satan.

The very first identity thief wants to destroy who God claims that you are. If you have asked Jesus Christ into your heart. Then 1 Peter 2: 9-10 is who you are.

*You are chosen.

*You are a royal priesthood

*You are holy.

*You belong to God and are of God

*You have received mercy.

This is our identity protection plan.

You have been chosen, forgiven, redeemed, and transformed. You have been shown love, mercy, and grace. Anything else filling your mind is a lie. Get your protection plan locked into your heart and mind. Don’t let the thief come in to steal, kill, and destroy, who God says that you are.

Our greatest weapon to fight the enemy is God’s Holy word. Hide it into your heart today.

Please take a quick minute and a half to watch this video on who you are in Christ.
 Praying for you today.

My Help Comes from the Lord

Design by: Katy Roberts

Have you ever been on a hike?

Walked the path of a long trail, climbed to the top of a mountain? Experienced the joy of the earth crunching beneath your feet? Birds chirping, a soft breeze blowing, and the warm sun peeking through the trees?

 

 North Carolina

This is one of my favorite things to do. My family and I have hiked through the dusty hill country of Texas to the top of Enchanted Rock, and through the tall Pine and Cypress Trees at the beautiful Caddo Lake. We have enjoyed climbing on Turtle Rocks, finding markings in Indian Caves, and standing under waterfalls at the top of Petit Jean Mountain in Arkansas. We have climbed Arkansas’s Mt. Nebo and witnessed amazing sunsets and sunrises; with deer making the perfect silhouette along the skyline. We have admired the most pristine waterfalls in North Carolina, where voices are drowned out by the rushing waters.

Enchanted Rock, Texas Hill Country

The joys of nature, hiking, and sharing Gods creation with my family is one of my favorite blessings. I feel closest to God when I am outdoors admiring his magnificent work. I almost always have praise rising from my lips at his grand displays.

And that brings me today to Psalm 121.

A Song of Ascents, sung by pilgrims on their way to worship God in Jerusalem.

121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.

    From where does my help come?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

    who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;

    he who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, he who keeps Israel

    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;

    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;

    he will keep your life.

8 The Lord will keep

    your going out and your coming in

    from this time forth and forevermore.

I remember my husband pointing out to me that more than likely at the top of each hill surrounding the pilgrims were alters where people would stop to worship false idols.  So imagine with me, we are hiking along this dusty trail with pilgrims all around us, and the song rises to our ears, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from?”

We pause and look up to see the hills speckled with alters to false gods, and sadly, a few turn to go. Seeking help from Baal who promises the earth will bear crops. Or to Dagon who promises water and grain. Or up the hill to visit Ashtoreth who promises fertility.

And so along this journey we see people turning from God to follow things they believe will fulfill them and make them happy. Today, it might look like someone in search of wealth and riches. Consumed with the need for more. It might look like someone else saying, “I’m going to do what I want to do and nothing else matters” taking life into their own hands and making self their god.

And so we cry out in hopes that the truth will reach their ears, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  The one who created these very hills. No one made my God with hands and clay. He made US with his hands and his clay.

“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Wow! What a promise!! The God who made heaven and earth is MY help!! He never sleeps!! He never slumbers!!

Have you become so burdened by life that you believe He is asleep? Has Satan hit you so hard you believe you are lost? Do believe the lies of the enemy. Have you attempted to find fulfillment in your own way? Leaving behind the one you love to go after false gods?

You have a God that sees. He is never asleep; no matter how you feel. Feelings often lie to us. We have to put complete faith in God and his holy word. The Lord is your keeper!! He is your SHADE at your right hand!! Take a deep breath and rest in that.

Whatever you are going through may truly be hard. It may feel like you are all alone. But please don’t believe that lie. You have a God that is right by your side. "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Deut. 31:6  

"Weeping my tarry with the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5(ESV)

He sees the big picture and has your best interest at heart.  Please, won’t you let him hold you. Let him lead you and carry you each day. He is strong enough for whatever you are carrying. Just lay it down, sleep in peace, and let him who never slumbers watch over you. He is worthy of our trust.

Carry Me to the Deep

We Love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

I want to encourage you to reflect on this verse. Read it slowly, read it out loud.

We love…

because…

He FIRST….

loved us.

As I flipped my calendar to February this morning this beautiful verse was staring me down. As I read and re-read, I began to ponder do we really grasp this truth?  It is only in Him that we are able to love or show love.

I remember reading a quote that appropriately describes this kind of love.

Our love to him is like a trickling rill, speeding its way to the ocean because it first came from the Ocean. All the rivers run into the sea, but their floods first arose from it: the clouds that were exhaled from the mighty main distilled in showers and filled the water-brooks. Here was their first cause and prime origin; and, as if they recognized the obligation, they pay tribute in return to the parent source. The ocean love of God, so broad that even the wing of imagination could not traverse it, sends forth its treasures of the rain of grace, which drop upon our hearts, which are as the pastures of the wilderness; they make our hearts to overflow, and in streams of gratitude the life imparted flows back again to God. All good things are of thee, Great God; thy goodness creates our good; thine infinite love to us draws forth our love to thee. ~ C. H. Spurgeon

Can you imagine it with me? The ocean waves rushing towards the beach, the tide rising and covering the sand, only to return back to the deep?

That is love. GOD IS LOVE. 1 John 4:8

Our LOVE our SOURCE is God.

His love, the depths of his love, are deeper than the ocean deeps.

We can listen to sermon after sermon; complete bible study after bible study; study, memorize, gain knowledge, and read every book in the library but, “Without love you remain in ignorance still, ignorance of the unhappiest and ruinous kind. “C.H. Spurgeon

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Let’s take time to have a heart check. 

Let’s stop running and going a hundred miles a minute and examine ourselves. 

Do you love God? 

Do you think you have to earn his love?

Have you drifted from adoring Him?

Do you believe he only loves you if…?

“Every man that ever was saved had to come to God not as a lover of God, but as a sinner, and to believe in God's love to him as a sinner. God has love in his heart towards those who have nothing in them to love. He loves you, poor soul, who feel that you are most unlovable; loves you who mourn over a stony heart, which will not warm or melt with love to him. Thus saith the Lord: "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto me; for I have redeemed thee." O that God's gracious voice this morning might so call some of his poor wandering ones that they may come and believe his love to them, and then cast themselves at his feet to be his servants forever.

"God loves me-not merely bears with me, thinks of me, feeds me, but loves me….an insignificant nobody, full of sin-who deserved to be in hell; who loves him so little in return-God loves me. Beloved believer, does not this melt you? Does not this fire your soul?” C.H. Spurgeon 

GOD LOVES YOU! Not because of anything YOU DID. Not because you earned it. But because HE IS LOVE. He sent his one and only son to die for your sins. He SAVES and LOVES sinners. And only then can we have and experience true love from the author and creator. Have you drifted today? Do you need to dive into the deep? The source of love? Rediscover what he did for you? 

Let that love transform you.  

My Pastors Wife

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be the Pastors wife? Are you a Pastors wife?  Are you in the early years of ministry, middle years, or later years?

I understand what it is like to be the wife of someone in the ministry. My husband has fulfilled the calling as a children’s minister, youth minister, and associate pastor. He is currently the Minister of Education, and has been for the past seven and half years. Altogether, we have served in the ministry full time for a little over eleven years.

From my limited years of experience, compared to others, I want to offer those of you supporting, serving, and fulfilling your call alongside your husband in ministry some encouragement.

First of all, GOD sees you. And for those incredible women in my own church (Nancy, Lea, Alysce, and Hannah) this is for you. I see and notice you. Not everyone sees what you do, because they have never walked in your shoes. I see the many hours you spend supporting your husband and trying your best to serve and help him in his ministry.  I see the many events you end up hosting,sometimes in your house, and the way you help plan, lead, help set up, and administrate behind the scenes (or in the late hours of the night after all else has settled).  I see you taking initiative to love, welcome, and offer encouragement to those around you.

I see the younger ones trying to balance serving their husband, while working hard as they finish their education strong. I see the late nights you spend trying to balance it all. I see some of you working so hard in an outside job because let’s be honest, ministry is not about the money. You give all day, you give at home, you give to your husband, you give to your kids, you give to your church. God sees that too.

I see and know that you do all of this because you are equally called by God to fulfill this role.  I also know very well that you don’t need recognition or appreciation, but I love you and want to do it anyway.

I see your kind gentle spirit. My pastor’s wife, Nancy, is such a testimony to this. There is a prayer by Mother Teresa that I think sums her spirit up.

“Let me preach You without preaching, not by words, but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the Love my heart bears to you. Amen” ~ Mother Teresa

I would be willing to guess that many of you could say the same about your pastor’s wife.

I also see you sitting alone, or corralling kids by yourself. I see you sometimes overwhelmed and a tear slip discreetly from your cheek. I see the loneliness that can sometimes come with leadership and I so badly want to pull you in. I see your heart and I see you pulled in many directions. I also see the hurt when your husband is hurt or criticized. You are human and you take it personal. If only our skin were created thicker.

But really, what I see in you, more than all of that I see joy. I see your joy in watching lives transformed. I see your joy when you have the honor and privilege to pray for the people in your ministry. I see the joy when you have given your all and know that God did big things in hearts and lives.

I hope and pray my sweet sisters, my fellow pastors wives, that you will know how loved you are and that you are not alone. Thank you for accepting this call from God. Thank you for serving and praying for your husband and church. Thank for sharing him and being on call all the time. You encourage me and bless me and I love you.

Bitter, Better, or Butter?

A few days ago my oldest daughter came home from school upset. She had experienced a little dose of life being unfair, and her heart was frustrated, upset, and a little angry.

To be honest, my Momma Bear heart started to get angry too, and I wanted to turn my car around and make sure this situation never happened again. (It really was not even that big of a deal, but you know how a Mom’s emotional heart can sometimes react).  I took a few moments to gather my emotions, silently listened to God and prayed for an appropriate response, and he began to awaken my heart.

Life is just not fair. It throws bad things on good people. It doesn’t care who you are, at some point life can hit you like a brick with a dose of unfair reality.  It doesn’t matter if you are nine or ninety, we all experience times when we fill mistreated, forgotten, overlooked, or burned. But, thank heavens that my precious nine-year-old has the opportunity to learn and practice today how God desires for her to respond to life’s hurts. As a mom, who has had to practice life being unfair too, I had the divine appointment to teach her how to respond today and in the future when some of life’s more hurtful events might hit her.

I first asked her to tell me how often this situation has happened. Was this the first time? Much like her Mother we can magnify a molehill into a mountain, so gaining perspective is key to understanding how to move forward.

Second, I asked her to take a look at her offender. Could this person possibly have been frustrated, tired, or hurting? What if they had a really bad day and sadly took it out on the wrong person. Have we ever done that? Can we forgive them and offer grace? Can we do something to show them love and encouragement, because maybe that’s the real issue. Maybe THEY need something. Try to look at this person through the lens of love, grace, and forgiveness.

Lastly, I told her every time life is unfair we have two options. We can get bitter or better. We can stay mad, choose not to forgive, look at them with dislike, and in the end poison ourselves with resentment. Hurting ourselves, our relationship with God, and others.

OR, we can choose to get better. We can ask God to teach us through this awful, terrible, unfair moment, so this experience does not go to waste. We can learn, grow, take notes, and get better by the grace, love, and strength our God promises. We can forgive, continue to show love, and watch God work in our lives.

Gratefully, she chose to get better. I watched her perspective change and God wash the anger away. Oh how I love her! So thankful she is attentive to God!!

The following evening, we were discussing the above life lesson at dinner with the whole family, and my son half paying attention looked up from his bowl of spaghetti and said, “What? You get bitter or butter?” We laughed and explained the lesson on life again, but as I cleaned up dishes, God reminded me that really we do sometimes choose butter.

You know, the choice to not get bitter, not get better, but instead to fill our lives with something superficial to block the pain. We choose to just not deal with it. We lazily decide it’s not worth dealing with so we fill the broken emptiness with…. butter. You know, those things in life that temporarily block the pain, sweeten your taste for a fleeting moment. Maybe it’s a drink, a smoke, a snort, a pill. Maybe it’s temporary comfort in the arms of the wrong person. Maybe it’s filling your void with mindless entertainment. It could be other things too. Even good things. You might work non-stop, hunt, golf, shop, or dive head first into something with so much focus that you push the pain aside, leaving it to sit on the back shelf and rot.

The problem, is eventually that pain on the back shelf will start rot and stink. And we know when something rots, everyone around smells it too. Our sins not only hurt us, but those around us. Is there something you are dealing with that you have pushed aside and left to rot? Are you struggling with forgiveness? Do you have bitterness that has turned into resentment? Whatever life has thrown at you; I pray that you take time in prayer to let God help you. It’s not easy! I know! But it's possible with a God who gives you strength. Each day we choose; and for some of us it's a daily battle. Put on your armor and fight! Let's choose to get Better through Christ Jesus.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:6-8