Stripped down....

We are having our bathroom remodeled.  Today, I came home to find all the old shower and cabinet gone.  There wasn’t a trace of it left.  It had been torn out and carried away, leaving the space stripped down to the stud walls.

I am relieved that I did not witness the demolition.  I am so glad all traces of it were gone before I got home.  Seeing it being ripped and torn would have been unpleasant for me.  I don’t think I could have ever done it myself even if I were able.

But it was necessary.  The old fixtures have served us well but our needs are changed, and they may change a lot more in the coming years.

There are often times in life when some things need to be stripped away or torn down.  Bad relationships,  wrong behavior,  lifestyles that are out of control.  There are times when drastic measures have to be taken.  

“There is a time to tear down. And there's a time to build up.  There is a time to cry. And there's a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. And there's a time to dance.  There is a time to scatter stones. And there's a time to gather them. There is a time to hug. And there's a time not to hug.   There is a time to search. And there's a time to stop searching. There is a time to keep. And there's a time to throw away.  There is a time to tear. And there's a time to mend. There is a time to be silent. And there's a time to speak.” (Ecc. 3:3b-7 NiRV)

Things don’t always stay the same.  There are things we want changed, but often we have to wait for the change to come.  Sometimes a very long time.  Waiting is not easy nor is it fun.

The stripping down of my bathroom walls was a mainly a matter of finance.  I have wanted it done for several years but the need was not great.  As the years pile up on us, the need begins to be greater.  Those handrails will be nice.

I have learned that timing is important.  I have learned that living in God’s timing is the best.  Resisting, doubting, and resenting God’s perfect time brings no joy.  Operating outside of His leading or permission seldom brings satisfaction and reward.  Even when the wait is very long, it is worth the wait.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecc. 3:11 NIV)



Hallelujah.

Spot showers....

It is hot. And dry.  Really dry.
Never mind that just a few weeks ago there were floodwaters everywhere around here, today, it is D.R.Y.

I was turning the lights off in our store this evening, getting ready to close down for the day, and I heard what I thought was the air conditioner running.  I had just turned that one off.  It wasn’t the air conditioner at all, it was rain pounding on the metal roof of the building.

Rain?  I had no idea there was a cloud anywhere near much less rain!

It rained hard for several minutes, the parking lot got a good washing off.  I drove home to find out that not a drop fell on our parched yard.

No fair.  Why did it not rain on my yard?!?  Why pour down water on yards where folks don’t even pick up their trash much less manicure their lawns.  Why not rain on my grass and let their trashy yard stay dusty, they wouldn’t even notice much less care!

“This is what God does. He gives his best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.  If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that.   If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”   (Matthew 5:45b-48 The Message)

God didn’t withhold the rain from my yard to show His disfavor, nor did He send the rain on that trashy yard to show some special favor.   But even if He did, it’s His perogative.  He blesses as He chooses, whether I understand, approve, or whether I do not.

 “…… for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45 KJV)

Doing without it makes me realize what a blessing it is.  Maybe I will appreciate it when it does come.

Lord, forgive this wilderness traveler for grumbling, help me appreciate the blessings of today, and not resent the spot showers that do not fall on me.  I have blessing that reaches far beyond just a spot…..

Unclean house...

We have lived in this little house for over 30 years.  I recently decided it was time to make some changes in order for it to serve us as well in our last years as it has served us as we raised our family here.  I am preparing for the work to begin so I had to empty out some cabinets where a bigger shower will be built, one that will accommodate a wheelchair should the need ever arise.

This bathroom cabinet was full of course.  I have cleaned it out several times over the years and discarded old medicines and half empty bottles.  But I have never completely emptied it.  What a mess.  Where does the dirt come from and how does it get behind the closed cabinet doors?

What makes it unclean creeps in.   It didn’t happen quickly.  The dust settled slowly, the spiders crept in unnoticed and spun their webs.  So it is with our lives.

I remembered some of the Levitical laws about an unclean house.

“… to purify the house by taking two birds, some cedar wood, scarlet thread, and hyssop.He will slaughter one bird over fresh water in a clay pot.  Then he will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet thread, and the living bird, dip them in the blood of the killed bird and the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times, cleansing the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet thread. Last of all, he will let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field. He has made atonement for the house; the house is clean. “ (Leviticus 14:49-53 NIV)

Mercy!  I sure am glad I am not required to do all that.  Ick.

My house is getting some remodeling.  I’m cleaning out and throwing away.  I’ve found some saved treasures and  found a lot of  trash. When Jesus taught about cleaning house, He warned that just throwing out what makes it dirty doesn’t guarantee cleanliness.

 "What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a man? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn't find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.'  When it arrives there, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.  Then the evil spirit goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That man is worse off than before." (Luke 11:24-26 NIrV)

Space will be filled with something, even if it’s just dust.  My cabinet was full of a few really necessary items and a lot of rubbish and dirt.  When this remodel is over, I must fill the space only with what is good and useful.

This remodel will be an event.  Keeping my house clean and clear afterwards will be a continued process.

Salvation is an event.  Being made holy is a process.  “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14 NIV)

I will never arrive at a time where maintenance is not necessary.  Never, this side of eternity, will I be able to just do nothing, if I want a clean house and a clean heart.

Keep hydrated...

A few short weeks ago, water covered much of the land just a few miles from our home.  Roads were closed, bridges washed out, homes destroyed, lives lost…all because of rainwater.

Today, I drove thru that same area.  The land is no longer standing in water.  The fields are plowed but they look different somehow.

We had water standing around our house those days ago, but there’s no water now.  No moisture at all in fact.  The grass is parched, we have dust instead of mud.  The grass is still a shade of green but it too, looks different somehow.

Living in the fallen world, we are reminded over and over that it is no longer a paradise.  Our garden days ended with the eating of the forbidden fruit, the knowledge of evil was chosen, and the rest is the history we are living out.

Rain is a blessing, but can be a curse.  We need water to survive, but water can kill.  Oh for a perfect balance!

My spiritual life is often a bit like this weather scenario.  There are times when my cup runs over with His filling Presence.  Other times, my spirit is dry and thirsty.

Tonight, I feel very thirsty.   Like David, “ On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.”   (Psalm 63:6 TNIV)

Like a strong willed child, I have to learn the hard way so often.  “I got this” seems to be my mantra.  Until failure comes that is.

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.   I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” (Psalm 63:1,2 TNIV)

Tonight, I purpose to seek Him.   FIRST.  I purpose to pour out all else that fills me, inviting and expecting Him to fill me up to overflowing.  I ask to be so filled that His blessing splashes over to bless someone else.

In my sleepless night, I count the times of His faithfulness.  I praise Him for His provision.  I have experienced His Presence and power.  The reason my spirit is parched is not because of any lacking on His part, my spirit is thirsty because I do not come and drink.

Tonight, I feast.  No more parched ground,  “I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. “ (Psalm 63:5 NIV)

Hallelujah.

Flood water or spring water..."

It has been a year for flooding.  Water has swept across acres of crops ready for harvest.  Land has been redefined as rushing water carried away soil and left behind trenches and holes.  Bridges have failed, people have died.

Yet this is not a global flood, the rain did not fall for 40 days and 40 nights.  The fountains of the deep did not open up.

"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month--on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.  And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights."(Genesis 7:11-2 NIV)



I remind myself and others that even though much is destroyed, God's promise is that He will not destroy us with water ever again.  We may suffer loss, we may be inconvenienced, but humanity will not be wiped out with water.  The colors of the rainbow is a reminder for that promise.

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:   "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you  and with every living creature that was with you... Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

" And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making.... I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. " (Genesis 9:8-17 NIV)

Our Father has since used water many times in scripture to continue to teach us.  On this sleepless night, my mind churned with thoughts of further bridge closings.  I turned to scipture and read about water.....

"The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook."(Proverbs 18:4 NASB)

My mouth is a constant issue.  Today was one of those days when it was just way too busy.  I fear it was like this flood water today instead of a bubbling brook.  An artesian spring provides cool refreshing water.  Consistent.  Fresh. Clear and clean.

"A fool's lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows." (Proverbs 18:6 NASB) 

"A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul." (Proverbs 18:7 NASB) 

I confess that today, the words of my mouth bordered on violent and muddy.  I have excuses.  Good ones.  Yet again,  I have failed to "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

I purpose that tomorrow my words will be as a fountain of wisdom and not a snare for my soul. 

I purpose that my words are clear and clean, not dark and destructive.

T.H.I.N.K.

T.H.I.N.K.

I googled the word and found   “direct one's mind toward someone or something; use one's mind actively to form connected ideas.”

I wonder if it isn’t the very last thing some of us do before speaking or acting.  I must confess that I’ve slipped right out of the habit of thinking.  I speak first and think later.  Usually with regret.  So, I turn to the book of James.  Again.  James has a lot to say about behavior, especially what comes out of my mouth.

 “A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything--or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”(James 3:5-6 The Message)

I thought tonight about the acronym, T.H.I.N.K

Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?

Ouch. That ‘N’  gets me on a regular basis.  Is it necessary, or should I just hush up.

I am encouraged that James also lets me know that I will never arrive in this taming of my tongue.  “…you can't tame a tongue--it's never been done.” (James 3:8 The Message)

It is an ongoing battle even in this 60th year of life.  I am constantly challenged and regularly ashamed.  I forget that I need a divine editor and censor, even in ordinary conversation, and I will need it until my last breath.  But rather than continue to feel utterly defeated, I must look at my predicament as an opportunity for growth and for God to do a further work in me and thru me.

 I choose to  “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” (James 1:2-3 The Message)

I want those true colors to be beautiful colors, not ugly.

I must not “….lose another minute in building on what I’ve been given, complementing my basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding,  alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder,  warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your my life, no grass will grow under my feet, no day will pass without its reward as I mature in my experience of my Master Jesus.” (2 Peter 1:5-8 The Message personalized by me)

Even speaking truth is not always helpful, inspiring, kind, or necessary.

I purpose to T.H.I.N.K. before I speak.
I purpose to speak life and not death.
I purpose to honor God with my words.

The rest of the story....

There is most always a ‘rest of the story’.  I am guilty of leaving out details to suit my spin on the story.  It’s easy to do.  It’s not a new thing, and I’m not the only one.  You might be guilty too.

I’ve been convicted in my spirit every time I read the story of the woman who was caught in her sin.  She wasn’t alone in her sin.  It takes two.

 “The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery.  Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" (John 8: 3-5 The Message)


It seems to me the religious police didn’t tell the rest of the story.  Imagining what the rest of the story might be doesn’t change the woman’s guilt.  She had sinned. Yet I always find myself imagining what the rest of the story was.  Certainly there was a man involved.  Duh.  What about his sin?


“Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt.  They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." (John 8: 6-7 The Message)

Again, my imagination explores the possibilities.  Had the men holding the stones visited this woman?  What sort of men were they, the kind to undress women with their eyes?  Did they make crude or vulgar remarks to women?  After all,  “… don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices--they also corrupt.” (Mat. 5:28 The Message)

They chose to drag this woman into the street and announce her sin.   Most likely she was naked, or perhaps clinging to the bed sheet from which she had been caught in sin.  Even if they were not guilty of her same sin, they were not without sin.  Neither am I.  And neither are you.

It was not necessary to humiliate her.  It was not necessary to announce it publicly.  Doing so was for the satisfaction of these self-pious men.  Maybe it made them feel superior.  Maybe it made them look like they were doing their job really well.

There may be a time when it is necessary and even beneficial to reveal a person’s sin.  But is it ever good to bring shame and embarrassment on purpose?  Surely there is always a better way.

Lord, help me to be part of restoration and not destruction.  I purpose to let you bring condemnation, never dragging someone’s fault into the public eye.  That is my desire, but I fail miserably.  I need Your help.  Forgive my failure.  Remind me before my next such sin.

The fruit of my labor...

Reading thru the Psalms, a phrase leaped off the page at me.  “You will eat the fruit of your labor…” (Psalm 128:2 NIV)

I sat up in bed reading those words, tired from a day at work and the struggles of life.  My belly is full, my body is sheltered and in comfort, I am safe and free.  I work.  Hard.  Regularly.  And I complain because other people don’t always.

I have enjoyed much fruit from my labor.

But….as I know oh so well, what I enjoy has been given to me.  Yes, I have worked.  I have labored.  But I have only participated in what God has laid before me.

I dedicated my workspace to Him.  I committed myself to be always mindful of my promise to Him, to put Him first in all things, including my day to day routine. I fully realize that the workplace I enjoy was provided from His gracious Hand.

When I forget that, when I find myself laboring alone, out from under His easy yoke, I soon find myself exhausted.  When I simply trust Him with the details and take one moment at a time, one day at a time, my energy level seems so much greater.  Why do I forget that everything is NOT up to me?

I don’t want to just eat the fruit of my own labor.  Why do that, when He has prepared such a feast and invited me to dine?

I purpose to get my eyes and trust back on Him.  I purpose to be a servant to God and to whomever He places in my life.  I repent of the pride and haughtiness that assumes I have the power and ability to accomplish anything of worth on my own, and once again recommit myself to seek His will.

And I return my head to my pillow this night expecting Him to quiet my soul.



“O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.   O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.”(Psalm 131 NASB)

Does anybody really know what time it is.....??

The band Chicago sang it well.  “Does anybody really know what time it is?  Does anybody really care? If so, I can’t imagine why, we’ve all got time enough to cry.”

I hate the time change in the spring.  My body never knows what time it is.  Well, maybe my body knows.  Maybe it knows and it is screaming at me because I seem to be confused about it !!

“People runnin' everywhere, don't know the way to go, don't know where I am, can't see past the next step, don't have to think past the last mile, have no time to look around.  Just run around, run around and think why…”

My body doesn’t know which way to go.  It said stay at work, but the clock said go home.  The clock said go to bed, my body said no….let’s not.  Ugh.

Time is a complicated thing.  We are bound by it.  We put limits on it and stamp the activities of life with it.  I am fascinated that God is not affected in the slightest.  I look forward to being released from the clock.  I often think about what it will be like for time to vanish into eternity.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
What do workers gain from their toil?
I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.
He has made everything beautiful in its time…..

 He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 NIV)

Does anybody really know what time it is?  No.  Not on God’s timetable.  We can watch for signs that the prophets have revealed to us, but nobody really knows.

 One day, time will stop.  He will break open the sky and we will be changed forever. He has certainly set eternity in my heart.  I am created in God’s image, I have eternal value.  I have within me a yearning for things to be right.  Perfect even.  But they are not.

Without Him, people certainly are runnin’ everywhere, don’t know the way to go.

Timing is important. Questioning God’s timing can lead us into rebellion against God’s plan. We may get ahead of Him.  We may even move forward withOUT Him, without His advice or guidance.  We may find outselves in despair upon doing so.

I purpose to stay close to the Author of time.  He knows what time it is.  I do not.

Our own bed....

Man it will be good to be in it tonight.  Three nights in a small hospital bed with it’s bedside recliner is a blessing when you need medical attention.  When you need rest, it comes up WAY short.

A phone text delivered a section of verses the first night.  It helped to set the tone of what turned into a three night stay.

 “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.”  (Psalm 63:7 NIV)


Tonight, I’m laying my head down on my own king sized bed beside this man of mine, not in a chair next to him.  But I purpose to still remember thru the watches of the night, Who is our help, and we will sing again in the shadow of His Wings.

Hallelujah.

Drizzle or downpour…

I look out the window from a hospital room to see another dreary day.  Puddles on the roof below show sprinkles still falling.  Were the temperature several degrees cooler, it would be more of the sleet and snow of the past couple weeks.  At least it is liquid falling this morning.

The past two nights I’ve spent in this recliner thing they call a bed.  I sit waiting now for yet another test to determine what is going on with my man.  My stinky attitude won’t help his attitude so I call it in check.

He doesn’t want to be here.  He tries to explain away and rationalize the symptoms of stroke he experienced two mornings ago.  TIA they call it.  Transient Ischemic Attack.  It is rarely life altering unless it is ignored.  When this early warning signal is ignored, it could indeed be life altering.  Or even life ending.  Fatal.

This incident is like this drizzle.  It disrupted our lives. It tends to bring on doom and gloom.  It keeps us from doing what we would rather be doing. But it is not a monsoon.  It is not a flood.  It is a drizzle.

How thankful I am for the disruption.

This drizzle will not turn into a flood.  This early warning sign is acknowledged and steps will be taken to prevent future problems.  We will not pretend it is not raining and walk unprotected.

God again works all things together for good.  Our bodies age from birth.  At our age now, the process is certainly accelerating.  Yet He has His Hand on us once again.  His timing is perfect and I am thankful this man of mine has learned to hear and obey that still small Voice, even leading me when I fail to do so.

These days and nights in a hospital room will pass.  Life style changes will be made.  We will purpose ourselves to be wiser in caring for the bodies that are beginning to show the wear and tear of the years behind us.

I praise Him for the healing and restored health He brings about, in whatever method He chooses.

The drizzle still falls outside these windows, but we know His peace and we feel the warmth of His love.  I have no doubt that the sun will shine again, and we will soon be past this disruption.

Hallelujah.

I will be healed...

I sit tonight nursing a shoulder recuperating from a surgery 4 weeks ago.  I am weary of talking about it.  I am grouchy from the discomfort and from my life being interrupted.  My routine has been drastically changed.  My income is affected.  I can’t lift my arm to do a simple thing like put the dishes in the cabinet.

I am strong, independent, self sufficient, hard working, and determined. I am ashamed because of my whining and impatience.  My attitude stinks.

There isn’t a single thing I can do to change the condition of my body.  Yes, I submitted to a surgeon’s knife.  Yes, I do physical therapy.  I believe those things to be necessary, yet they did not miraculously return the use of my arm.

I am struck tonight at how many lessons I have been given these past months.  I had a new business to run, lots of demands on my time and money, and my arm fails.  After a surgery and a short physical therapy, I was back to work.  I had a few short months before the other arm began giving me the same warnings.  For much of the past 18 months, I’ve dealt with this.

Whine, whine.

My sense of self preservation has been of little benefit.  No matter that I put my ears back and dig in, my body is aging.  Determination and will power won’t do it.  A simple little bone spur shuts down my entire little independent self.  The enemy makes sure to throw a few darts of fear.  ‘What if….?”, he asks.

I know I should  “…forget not all His benefits, Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases..”(Ps. 103:3 NIV)

I know  Jesus said “do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.” (Luke 12:22-23 NIV)

He challenges me to “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” (Luke 12:24-25 NIV)

Indeed.  Who?

"Think about how the lilies grow. They don't work or make clothing. But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all of his glory was dressed like one of those flowers. If that is how God dresses the wild grass, how much better will he dress you! After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. Your faith is so small!

"Don't spend time thinking about what you will eat or drink. Don't worry about it. People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father knows that you need them. "But put God's kingdom first. Then those other things will also be given to you.  (Luke 12:27-31 NIrV)


My ailment is so small, and I complain so big.  Oh that my faith would be as big as my complaining lately.

I am healed.

My sin is removed as far as the east is from the west.  That sin was my worse disease.  That sin was what crippled me.  That sin is what kept me from approaching God in sweet fellowship.

This arm thing is a nuisance that God will remove in His own time.  Hallelujah.

I remember....

On birthdays of family or friends I often give them a word gift.  I write a short note of things I remember about them.  It seems to be appreciated by the recipient but I think I may get more from it than they do.  I usually recall some tidbit that makes me once again appreciate the value of the relationship we have.

Remembering is hard for me.  It always has been.  In school, I couldn’t memorize poetry, I had a hard time remembering lists of things.  The Sr. English final exam was matching up lists of authors and their works.  I fretted about it the entire time I was in high school.  It was traumatic, I still wonder how I passed it.  Perhaps Mrs. Harrison had pity on me.

 I have very little memory of early years. My siblings speak of things I have no recollection of.  I really labor over some of those ‘I remember’ notes, but as I have cultivated the habit, it seems to have helped somewhat.

Tonight I exercise my memory again. As I turn to scripture I am amazed at how often my  Father has instructed me to remember!

“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”(Deut. 8:2 NIV)

“…remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,..”(Deut 8:18 NIV)

“Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced..”(1Chron 16:12 NIV)

Over and over in scripture, God has told His people to remember, admonished them to not forget where they have been, how He has rescued, how He has provided.  Over and over, they did not.  When they looked with fear on their circumstance rather than looking in faith at the One Who had been so faithful, they forgot how powerful He is.  They forgot that He works in ways that are completely unexpected.  He speaks and it simply IS.  Over and over they forgot.

I purpose that I am not forgetful in that way.  I purpose to remember the faithfulness of my Father.

I have been in difficult situations and struggled for lengthy periods of time.  When I prayed for an escape He gave me grace sufficient to wait.  When it seemed like financial burdens would build up, like manna from heaven, there was always more than enough, even abundant blessing.  When I have put my trust in people, He has reminded me that people fail but He does not.  Ever.

My body fails and displays it’s limitations, it is only dust.  Just as Jesus warned Peter, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."  (Matthew 26:41 NIV)  All my good purposes, all my good intentions, all my sincerity, all of it vanishes when He does not sustain me.  When I fail to remember Him, fail to speak to Him, fail to listen for His Voice, my flesh shows itself.  Fear and doubt raise their ugly heads.   He never withheld anything, but I stopped asking and receiving.

So I sit in the quiet late night and remember.  It is not my first trip around this wilderness.  Seems the scenery is a bit too familiar.  Maybe this will be my last pass by this way….

I purpose to remember every deliverance, every provision, and every direction, all the while listening and expecting that He will do the same again.

 He is faithful.
Always.
Hallelujah.

Daily Challenge...

Daily Challenge…..

On sleepless nights I often play solitaire on my iPhone.  The particular app I use has a daily challenge.  When you win it, you get a crown on the calendar for that day.  I think there are other perks to it but I just like to beat it for the day.

When the last card is successfully played and the game is won, the cards go flying in random directions all over the screen and then all come back together in suit.  What looks like a total mess ends up with them all in a neat little stack in perfect order.

In sleeplessness I carried my exhaustion in prayer to my Father, asking Him to bring some comfort and rest, then reached for my iPhone to beat that Daily Challenge for this day.  In my spirit I heard Him whisper,  "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.   For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 NIV)

It is a daily challenge, every moment of every day.  He never promised it would be easy, in fact His promise was that it would NOT be easy.  "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV)

Like the cards that go flying in every direction, things in my life often seem to be in total dissarray, a total mess, unorganized, and chaotic. But I know from my experience with Him that He brings all things together for good for those who love Him, for those who are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28)

Everything in my daily challenge is not good.  Everything that God does or allows is not necessarily to make me happy or comfortable.  But I know this….everything God does or allows is for purpose.  His purpose.  And I have committed myself to Him.

I purpose to continue on with the daily challenge.  When I get defeated, I rise up the next day and play again.

Besides….He has already won.  Every single hand.  "…take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV)

I will lose a hand, often.  But I continue the challenge and expect eventual victory because “the one who is in me is greater than the one who is in the world. (1John 4:4 NIV personalized by me)

No argument here....

“…be it unto me according to thy word.”
“Let everything you've said happen to me."
(Luke 1:38, KJV and GW translations)

I find it incredible that Mary had no more argument with the announcement she was given.  Out of the blue, she is told that she’s about to become a mother.  And there was no argument.

She did ask a question.  “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Luke 1:34 (KJV)  Perhaps she had passing thoughts about what she might be required to do to make this pregnancy happen.  I can think a dozen thoughts in a split second, surely Mary could.  Where did her mind go?

Scripture tells us that she asked the ‘how?’ question, and then submitted.   Just like that.  I’m quite sure I’d have spent a lot of time trying to argue my way out of it.  But then, God knew to choose Mary.  Not wait 2000+ years and ask Connie.

I want to be like Mary.  I want to submit easily.  I want to take God at His Word, believe He can and will do exactly what He says, and then have the desire to want what He wants.  Becoming a mother, with no husband, most likely very young….people would whisper, maybe accuse and shame.  But Mary submitted.

Raising children is hard.  I’ve often said that if we knew the reality of how hard it is, the human race would become extinct.  None of us would feel up to the task, we’d be scared to death to have a child in the first place.  Two o’clock feedings and potty training are hard.  Adolescence is harder.  Young adults can top that sometimes.  We suffer when they suffer, increasingly thru the years.  The joy they bring is intertwined with the pain of  their struggles, especially those that we are powerless against.  

The painful night in the stable giving birth among animals would hold no light to Mary standing on Golgatha giving up her boy to a Roman cross.  She had no idea when she said the words ‘be it unto me’  what all that would include.

The birthing of the baby Messiah Jesus was the easiest part.

Asking too much....?

Studying the Ten Commandments is always difficult for me.  Every time I look deeply into each one of them I find myself guilty.  I have broken all of them.  I come away more thankful for grace.  I am a pitiful law keeper.

I have allowed other things to sit on the throne of my life.  Myself, family, work, money, stuff of all sorts…  Many things fight to be god in my life.  I purpose to dethrone them once again.  I have no golden calf or stone image.  But again, I am guilty of looking to many things for security and help, running back to God when those things fail me.  I purpose to remember that only He is a real source of help and security.

Rarely if ever have I used God’s Name in cursing.  The GD word makes me cringe.  But how often I flippantly speak His Name.  While I am privileged as His child to come boldly into His Presence, speaking to Him or about Him as if He was an ordinary joe is simply wrong.  I purpose to not use His Name in empty meaningless ways.  I purpose to speak of Him with the honor that He alone deserves.

God rested and He has commanded us to rest.  I find it easy to rest, but in my rest I often forget to commune with Him in it.  I purpose to use my day of rest to listen for His Whisper, discerning the call on my life, the direction I must go, crawling up in His lap and reveling in His love.

I purpose to intentionally look for ways that honor my parents.  In these difficult days, it is wrong to hide from the hard things.  They were not perfect in their parenting, just as I have not been a perfect parent.

I have not taken a life.  I haven’t robbed a bank or burglarized a house.  I haven’t lied in court causing someone to be found guilty, nor have I coveted someone’s ox or donkey.

But I am guilty of breaking those commands in other ways.  To keep that set of ten simple rules is simply asking too much of me.  When I start to examine my life, my attitudes, my behavior and words, I find guilt.  Mountains of it.  Their purpose is served.  My sin is pointed out.  My need of a Savior is evident.

I read the recorded words of the prophet Micah,  "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.  I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. “ (Micah 6:4 NIV)

 “I delivered you from a bad life in Egypt; I paid a good price to get you out of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you-- and Aaron and Miriam to boot!   Remember what Balak king of Moab tried to pull……… Remember all those stories about Shittim and Gilgal. Keep all GOD's salvation stories fresh and present." (Micah 6:4-5 The Message)

After hundreds of years as slaves, it seems like the magnificent and miraculous deliverance they had experienced would have given them stronger trust.  But I wonder that they looked at those ten rules and felt like I do now.  Did they think God was asking too much?

Thank You Lord again for grace.  Thank You for the examples that are recorded.  Thank You that I am born in this time and in this place.  And thank You that although my sin is black, You have covered and forgiven, You have restored and washed.  You have come to me when I had no way to approach You.  You came and you stay, never to leave.  You walk with me, day by day, moment by moment, even when I ignore and rebel.

“…what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV)

You have not asked too much, because You have given all.

No one untouched...

Pharaoh refused to submit to God even after nine displays of His deity.  Pharaoh considered himself a god.  Nine times, God Almighty had shown His supremacy over gods of Egypt.  Now, He would bring the final and ultimate plague and people would die….the oldest of every family.

Imagine the devastation.  Imagine how every single family was affected.  Imagine the chaos and disturbance of authority.  No family would escape, no one would be untouched by this devastation.

“ Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.” (Exodus 12:30 NIV)


Pharaoh must not have been the oldest.  He lived.  But he lost his first born. Perhaps his parents, his wife, grandparents, uncles, staff, friends.  Death in every house.

Think how your sudden absence might affect others.  What if suddenly you were gone?   Lots of people would be sad, and other people would find their lives upside down.

We sang a song in high school choir, “No man is an island, No man stands alone”.  We are individuals responsible for our own actions and behavior.  Yet, our choices and behavior don’t just affect us personally.  We don’t reside on an island all by ourselves.

Pharaoh chose to reject the authority of God and an entire nation was affected.  No one was untouched.  Death in every house.

I purpose to make my choices prayerfully.  I purpose to consider how my choices affect others.  I do not want to be responsible for heartbreak of any kind in another life.

Lord help.

Tell it like it was....

I get very nostalgic during certain times of the year.  I feel it coming on now.  Holiday times with their events and deadlines are beginning to press in.  As I prepare for the seasons ahead I can’t help but remember the seasons past.  (Makes me think of that old song “The Way We Were” and “Every Picture Tells A Story Don’t It?”)

 I recall the way we all were.  I see photos that bring back a rush of emotional memories of times past and remember how it was.  

When the Israelite people followed Moses across the parted Red Sea, God instructed them to do certain things that would bring back those memories.  God intended for them to tell it like it was.  He wanted each rising generation to have opportunity to be curious about their heritage.  He wanted each individual  to be taught about what had happened and how it had come about.  

 “…when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them….”(Exodus 12:27 NIV)

We all have a story.  Every life, however young or old, is being written.  The part that has been written can’t be changed but it can be told.  We can learn from it and others can learn.

I purpose to use every opportunity to tell it like it was before He changed me.  And I purpose to live out the story of my life in a way that honors my Father.  He knows it beginning to end.

Give me a hand....

The Israelite people had walked miles and miles.  Every time the cloud moved, they packed up and followed it.  Water was scarce and God provided. They craved meat to eat and God provided.   Day after day, mile after mile, Moses led them.  He listened to the complaints, and there were plenty.   He was the go-to guy for every problem, doing his best to work out the conflicts between them all.

How exhausting.  Poor old Moses, and Moses was indeed OLD.  After all that stuff with Pharaoh, walking all that way in the opposite direction of Egypt, listening to problems and trying to work things out, ole’ Mose must have been worn to a frazzle.

I know the feeling.  Oh, I realize I am no Moses by any stretch of the imagination, but I can relate.

And I have experienced God’s blessing when He has placed alongside me, my own Aarons and Hurs.  I have valued those who have been there to give me a hand when I needed more than the two I have.

“ When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” (Exodus 17:12 NIV)

God knows when we need a support group.  I suppose He also knows when we place too much trust in that support group, and too little on Him.

I purpose to look first to my Father for provision and empowerment.  I know that He alone knows what support I need far better than I know for myself.

He is God.  I am not.

This is a test.....

I am not a good test taker.  I have a pitiful memory and if the information is not personally interesting to me, I can’t recall it.  The only way I do well on a test is to go over and over and over it.  Over and over again.

When I am learning the lyrics to a song I intend to sing, I have to practice for weeks, and I have to get rid of the cheat notes.  If I have the lyrics written down, I’ll keep looking at them, depending on my reading skills instead of my memory!

I hate tests.  But they come.

 “I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not.” (Exodus 16:4 The Message)

God knows if I will fail or pass.  He has promised that He will not allow what I can not bear up under.  “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He'll never let you be pushed past your limit; He'll always be there to help you come through it.”(1 Corinthians 10:13 The Message)

I still hate tests.

But they reveal to me my weaknesses.  They force me to surrender my stubborn self-will.  They show me that I am not as independent as I might think.

My Father continues to allow me to be tested.  His purpose is to build me up, not tear me down.

Did I say that I hate tests…..?

Singing my heart out...

It’s so easy to praise God in times of victory.  When I have come thru a struggle, I can sing my heart out, even if tears of joy flow down my face, I can sing.

When the Red Sea swallowed the pursuing enemy, the Israelites stood on the far bank watching.  It was a time of relief.  It seemed like a close call, but they were safe.  God had miraculously delivered them by separating the waters so they could keep moving away from Pharaoh’s army.  Though that army chased after them, God didn’t hold back the water for them and they all perished as the returning waters piled upon them.

I bet there was shouts of joy.  Certainly, there they must have been celebrating as they sang their hearts out praising God.  “..then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD…. The LORD is my strength and my defense…Who among the gods is like you, LORD?” (Exodus 15:1,2,11 NIV)

Praise can be given in many ways.  Since music was God’s creation, how fitting that we use it to praise Him.  It wasn’t a song of thanks, though surely they were thankful, thanking God is not the same as praising Him.

As the season of thankfulness approaches, I purpose to not stop with just thanking God even though I do appreciate what He has done for me and in me.

I purpose to sing my heart out in praise.

Get on with it....

Moses told them,  "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14 NIV)

Moses said the right thing.  He looked and sounded brave and trusting.  His words said that He had faith that God was in charge.  The people Moses led heard encouraging positive words from his mouth.  But Moses own heart must have struggled with fear and doubt too.

"Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.  Raise your staff and stretch out your hand…”(Exodus 14:16 NIV)

In prayer time with God, Moses was honest. He found himself also paralyzed.  He cried out to God.  Maybe he even whined.  Moses told the people to be still, and God told Moses to get them moving.

A time of difficulty is a dilemma for me. Often, I have been prone to act even when unsure about what to do.  At other times, I am prone to excuse myself from taking action by saying I was ’praying about it’.  I’ve said that I don’t want to ‘get ahead of God’ but I think maybe I’ve stayed ‘behind God’ so long that He ran off and left me!!

There is a time to be still and wait for God to fight my battle.  There is also a time to get up and move on.

I purpose to depend on Him to provide discernment and wisdom to know the difference.

An impossible situation....

The Israelites had seen ten supernatural events.  Ten times God had spoken thru Moses about what He was going to do if Pharaoh did not obey God’s directions.  Ten times it had happened exactly as Pharaoh had been warned.  The Israelite people had been spared.  God had made it plain that He was protecting the people He had chosen.  Yet when these same people found themselves in a difficult situation, they had no confidence in the God that brought them to where they stood.

“The Israelites were terrified. They cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Why did you bring us to the desert to die? Weren't there any graves in Egypt? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:10-11 NIrV)

I too have asked God why.  “Why did you have me come to this place only to face this?”  I am ashamed to say that even after all the times I have experienced God’s working in my life, like the Israelites, I fly into an emotional tailspin when I find myself in situations that are unpleasant and threatening.

The frightened Israelites not only didn’t remember all the miraculous activities they had witnessed, they didn’t accurately remember what they thought or said.

“We told you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians.' It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!" (Exodus 14:12 NIrV)

Fear is an awful enemy.  It colors everything.  When we do not turn our eyes, our minds, our hearts, and our wills toward God, fear can consume.

I purpose that in those times, rather than give in to fear and despair, I will remember my Father’s instructions to my siblings at the Red Sea.

  "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14 NIV)

The long way around....

God’s people were finally released from Pharaoh’s slave camps.  They had lived their lives there but they knew their history and they knew the promises of God.  There was a promised land for them.  A place of plenty.  A place of blessing.  So they followed the deliverer God had sent.

It was really not far to where they ended up, but they were taken the long way around.  God took them that way on purpose.  These people knew nothing about how to function with their new found freedom.  They now had no slave drivers.  They had no one to force them into anything.  They simply had God leading them and providing for them, and they were faced with the decision to trust Him.

Little did they know what He was protecting them from as He chose the route across the wilderness.  They weren’t ready for much.  That was plain to see when dust from the army of Pharaoh showed up behind them.  They were terrified and ready to surrender.

There were other enemies and other battles ahead of them, but God would have to prepare them to face and fight.  There were lots of obstacles between where they were and where they were going.  Physical obstacles and spiritual obstacles.

“The shortest road from Goshen to Canaan went through the Philistine country. But God didn't lead them that way. God said, "If they have to go into battle, they might change their minds. They might return to Egypt." (Exodus 13:7 NIrV)

When I catch every red light, when I get behind a slow moving vehicle, when I can’t find a parking place, or any other time that my time seems to be wasted, I most always wonder if God is interceding and interrupting my haste.  How many times I’ve come up on a wreck and wondered if I hadn’t been at every single red light, could I have been involved in that accident.

God certainly has the authority to put obstacles in my path for whatever reason He chooses.  Perhaps I need testing.  Perhaps I need training.  Perhaps I need reminding that He is God, and I am not.  He knows every leg of my journey, He knows what I am ready for and what I am not.

I really prefer the easy route, I prefer the fastest route, but I purpose to trust Him to lead me around it or thru it, whatever it is.

Start over...

After all the plagues, after all Pharaoh’s opportunities, after all the suffering he brought on the people of the nation he ruled, after all that had happened, there came an end to it.  A tragic end for the Egyptians.  For the enslaved Israelite nation, the end of an era.

"From now on, this month will be your first month. Each of your years will begin with it. Speak to the whole community of Israel…..”(Exodus 12:3 NIrV)

For some four hundred years, this had been their life.  The adults knew no other life.  Children heard stories handed down from great grandparents about life before slavery.  Life had been good.  Easy.  Egyptians were friends, not enemies.

Things change.

God knew the story from the beginning.  When Joseph’s brothers sold him off to those slave traders, which is how they all got into Egypt in the first place, God knew how the story would go.  Nothing that happened was a surprise to Him.  Not the birth of the nation, not the growth of that nation, not the years of blessing and plenty, not the years of bitter enslavement.

When they left the slave camps of Egypt, God gave them instructions to start over.  There would be a whole new calendar, a whole new way of marking the times and events of life.

“From now on..”, God said.

"The LORD will bring you into the land of Canaan. He will give it to you, just as he promised he would. He even took an oath when he made the promise to you and your people of long ago.” (Exodus 13:11 NIrV)


While we are not in the situation of those slaves, we all come to places that mark the end of an era.  Those times should be no surprise to God’s children.  He is faithful to continue to lead, guide, and bless.  Even when we are turning the page of a brand new calendar.

He is faithful.

Tell it like it is...

Often, the story told from different viewpoints sounds like a whole different story.  A spin can be put on it, details left out or elaborated on and the story takes on a new life.  Like the news broadcast companies, there is  a slant to a lot of stories.

I’ve sat and listened to my boys telling stories from when they were young and wondered why they remember the things they do.  Things that made an impact on their memory often missed mine completely.   The stories they remember best are those told to them by their grandparents.


“…you'll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; you'll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that you'll all know that I am GOD." (Exodus 10:2 The Message)


The Israelite children lived thru a lot.  Ten times plagues came and brought devastation.  Over and over their parents and grandparents watched the power and might of God as He displayed His authority over the so-called gods of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  Children might remember about all that happened, but God intended them to have some understanding about those events.  He made a point to instruct those parents and grandparents to tell  the story.  God said tell it like it is.  Don’t depend on a child’s memory.  Don’t let a slant be put on it.  Don’t let emotions run loose and make it bigger and don’t let political correctness decrease the magnitude of it.

Tell it like it is.

Tell the generations after you what you have witnessed.  Tell them how Your Creator God wielded His power over Egypt.  And you won’t need to spin it, give it a slant, or elaborate.

Those children grew up and at God’s direction, re- told the stories of their deliverance.

Do my children hear the stories of MY deliverance? Have I told the stories of how God has acted in my life, how He has guided me and protected me?

“… tell your children and grandchildren ……………… how I performed my signs ……….. that you may know that I am the LORD." (Exodus 10:2 NIV)


He is God, and I am not.  THAT is how it is.

Say when....

In this age of fast food and speedy internet, I find myself usually saying "NOW!’.

I want my food now.

I want to be checked out now.
I want to be waited on and helped now.
I want my phone faster, I want my computer and internet service to be faster.
I want my deliveries to be faster.
I want people to do what they are supposed to do without being told ‘when’ they should.

Not only do I want things ‘now’, I expect.

I expect my food to be what I ordered.
I expect service to be available and plentiful.
I expect there to be ways to improve what is not up to standard.
I expect people to do what they are supposed to do.
I expect people to be honest and fair.

I’ve expected so many things that turned out to be just as I expected.  But occasionally, that unexpected thing knocks the wind out of my sail.

I can voice all my desires and ‘say when’ moments but that doesn’t mean I always get them.  Though I can’t wrap my brain around it, God is not affected by time.  He says when and He is far more patient than I am.

Scripture tells about times that God would ‘say when’. times when He spoke and didn’t even have to say ‘now’.  Whatever He said, simply WAS.  Whatever He says still,  simply IS.

“Let there be light”, and there was light. (Genesis 1:3 KJV)


When Pharaoh had frogs all over his house, God allowed him to ‘say when’ he would like for God to remove them.  Incredible.  Ole’ Pharaoh had no idea how out of the ordinary it is for God to allow US to ‘say when’!!!

"I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile."   "Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.   The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile." (Exodus 8:9-11 NIV)

God had a purpose in letting Pharaoh ‘say when’.  He was making it evident just who was in charge.  God sent the frogs, and when the frogs were eliminated at the exact time Pharaoh said, it would be hard for Pharaoh to explain that away.  Pharaoh would have one less excuse to not believe that God is God, and Pharaoh was simply was NOT.

God hasn’t let me ‘say when’ lately.  God has allowed things to which I would have said an emphatic ‘not now’!  But unlike the situation with Pharaoh and the frogs, I don’t need God to display the truth to me that He is in charge.


I purpose to not presume to ‘say when’.
He is God, and I am not.

Plagues of frogs....

Frog.  I see a little green frog and I immediately am challenged to Fully Rely On God.  FROG. There have been times when it seemed I saw a little green frog every single day, sometimes more than once.
 
I've been studying the life of Moses and the passages of this week's study contain the stories about the plagues that God sent on the Egyptians.  God intended for His people to be freed from slavery.  Each of the ten plagues were a direct assault on one of Egypt's many gods.  They believed the Nile river was the blood stream of their god Hapi.  God turned the water of that river to real blood.  For seven days there was no fresh water from that river, only blood.  Imagine the stench....

The Egyptians thought frogs were sacred.  Heqet was the frog-like goddess of life and fertility. They wouldn't kill frogs.  When God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh with the message again to let His people go, God warned them that He would send a second plague, a plague of frogs.

I guess Pharaoh hadn't any idea of how many frogs God could come up with.  The Bible tells us that frogs were everywhere.  "

If you refuse..... I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country.  The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs.  The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.'" (Exodus 8:1-4 NIV)

Ick.

I guess Pharaoh thought so too, he "summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD." (vs. 8)

I wonder what the Egyptians thought from then on, each time they saw a frog, did they remember? Did the frog remind them of the power of God?  Did it remind them that God does exactly what He says He will do.  Did they remember that when God makes a statement or promise, that they could fully rely on Him to do just that? 

Fully Rely On God.  I don't need but one little green frog to remind me of that.......

Everything happens for a reason...

Well, yes it does.  Sin entered the world for a reason.  A choice to disobey God.

I could list dozens and dozens of reasons that things happen.  Everything that happens, happens because of a reason.   Duh.

That does not mean that everything that happens, happens for a GOOD reason.

But, “…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 TNIV)


I am called according to His purposes.  I am not perfect.  My obedience is not perfect.  But I love Him and submit myself anew to His calling on my life.  And because HE is God, and I am NOT, all things…..ALL things, will work for my good.

Yep.  Everything happens for a reason.

Who gets the glory...?

　

It is in the most difficult of times that I am most intimate with the God Who made me.

In the times when I am helpless to change a situation, in times of hurt, times of crisis, when my heart and body ache…it is then that I know the Presence of my Father the most.

I want to serve Him all the time. I never want to take Him for granted. I want to bring honor to Him and make Him known to others. I want to bring Him glory thru the way I live my life. In every detail, every day, week after week, year after year.

I fail so miserably. I am ashamed that sometimes I glorify myself. I forget that it is Him and not me that has accomplished anything that is of any worth or value in my life. When I find myself in the most difficult situations, it is then that I have the best opportunity to bring Him glory.

He has shown Himself faithful to be always before me and behind me. He is the same today as yesterday and yesteryear. Nothing surprises Him as it surprises me. And He is capable of handling all my tomorrows.

He is so good.

Put it in gear.....

My Bible Study Fellowship lesson asks me to consider the question “Spiritually, do you think the Christian life should be like driving a car?”

My first impulsive answer is “YES!!!!! I want to put it in gear and go! Sometimes put it in reverse and back up!! Sometimes I want to slam a brake and stop!! I want to honk at what is in my way. And I want to PASS what is in the way!”

Doesn’t work like that….

I have a brand new car. I got it several weeks ago, I picked it out myself. It has lots of bells and whistles. It gets great mileage, is quite luxurious on the inside. It drives and rides like a dream.

It has a camera that shows me what is behind me when I back up. I has a little alarm that warns me if I’m too close to something. I can hear directions to my destination thru the radio speakers.

It has a button to push that will heat the steering wheel when it’s cold (…that will be nice to my old achy worn out hands when it’s cold). It has heated seats that really feel good to my back on the way home from a 10 hour day behind a styling chair.


My life should be so easy to motivate.

But…I do have warning signals and I do have guidance. I do have a Source of comfort.

I just need to get out of the drivers seat and let my Chauffeur take the wheel. He is a much better Driver than I am. His driving record is perfect….

Listen to Me….

The Hebrew people had it rough. It was hot, the work they were forced to do was hard and just got harder after Moses showed up. Some rescuer he was!

God had spelled it out for them. I AM the Lord. I will bring you out. I will free you. I will redeem you. I will take you as my own, I will be your God. I will bring you to the land I promised. I will give it to you. Promise after promise after promise… (taken from Exodus 6:6-8 NIV)

“Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.” (Exodus 6:9 NIV)

I know they were tired out. Work, work, work. Day after day. Wonderful promises are hard to focus on when you are worn out.

I don’t want to be a tired Israelite.

I want to listen even though I am discouraged and tired.

Where is that cloud....?

I've studied the life of Moses before.  But God always has perfect timing and I find myself learning from Ole' Mose again right now. After having left the palace and found rejection from his own people, Moses lived with yet another foreign people.  He married, had children, got a job shepherding, and then came up on that flaming bush that wouldn't burn up. 
At Moses' request, God brought his brother Aaron to help him do what God had for him to do, and off they went to that familiar palace to deliver a very hard message.  "Let my people go or...."

So, Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh what God had said and Pharaoh refused.  Big surprise.

I'm already feeling sorry for Moses.  He has before him an impossible task humanly speaking.  He is no match and no threat to Pharaoh.  In fact, in response to Moses' direction from God, Pharaoh just makes life more difficult for the very people Moses wants to help.  Pharaoh doubles the workload. 

"Is this why you sent me?"
"You haven't saved Your people at all!"
(Exodus 5:22,23 NIV)

I'm not Moses.  But I sure empathize and sympathize. 

I look at my circumstances and wonder "Why Lord?  I thought I was about to get to a place where life would be easier from here on out.  I thought I had worked hard enough to take it easy in the near future.  I have done what I understood You to ask.  Now, it seems that things will just get harder...."

Looks like the promised land is just a little further.  (.....where is that cloud....???) 

Just look at me....

It wasn't meant to be advice really.  It was just a comment in a casual conversation.

 "Just look at me", she said. 

It has always been true of me that I learn best from a negative experience or example.  I have been in situations that made me purpose to never be guilty of some wrong behavior or attitude.  I have learned how I do NOT want to treat other people.  I have learned how I do NOT want to make a mess of relationships.  I have learned how I do NOT want to behave, react, or respond.

I have learned those things by being treated poorly, by seeing others suffer because of poor treatment, by seeing relationships crumble and words ripping thru hearts.

At my age, I might have expected to have it all mastered by now.  But just look at me too.

My mother's words come repeated from my own heart tonight.  Just look at me, I have learned a lot, and I still fail miserably.  Don't we all....

I look at her and know that she had hour after hour to look back in regret.  Her situation might have been different. 

I look at me and know that there is much to regret as well.  My life might have been different.  I might have been a better wife, mother, friend, employee....I might have been a better person. 

But as my first daughter-in-law often says, 'It is what it is'. 

So I purpose tonight to take my mother's unintended advice.  I purpose to not be defeated by the enemy's accusations over the regret that I do have.  I purpose to hear the soft still Voice whispering and leading forward.  He is able to "restore what the locusts have eaten"(Joel 2:25)

I purpose to learn as much as I can from every wrong choice and every painful mistake.  And I purpose to live in victory not regret, knowing that He is more than able to handle what I can not.

Hallelujah.

T.H.I.N.K.

T.H.I.N.K…..

"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Phil. 4:8 NASB)

Sometimes it's hard to find something to think about.

The enemy makes sure there is plenty of things to think about that are not true, that are not honorable, that are not right, that are not pure, that are not lovely, that have no good repute or excellence, things that certainly are not worthy of praise.....it is easy to find those things to dwell on.

God has given me a filter.  If only I could use it consistently.  If only I could remember to T.H.I.N.K.  If I could always remember to filter my thoughts and choose what is really true, what brings honor, what is really right and pure, what cultivates good repute rather than tearing down.

Yet, I fall into the enemy’s trap and find myself thinking on things from his perspective rather than my Lord’s perspective.

Satan has always used that tactic.  He distorts truth.  He presents it to us and so often we take it and bite right into it, even though we have been advised differently.

If there was just an off switch.  Wouldn’t that be great?  A switch to just turn my thoughts off.  At least for a while….

I purpose tonight to begin afresh, repenting of wrong thinking and begin “ fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”   (2 Cor. 10:5 The Message)