The Tree

I have been battling with anxiety about the lack of options for a position for Tim. This morning as I was reading I Peter I was admonished about this.

I am to cast all of my anxieties on Him and trust in His care for me.
I am to be sober minded and watchful of the enemies attempts to devour me, in this case through discouragement.
I am to resist him firm in my faith.
And...
He will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me.

What a wondrous promise.

He has given me a physical reminder of this in a tree that a friend brought over yesterday. We chose to use our tree money this year for presents for the grandkids and were fine with the decision, however, my friend felt we should have a tree.
She brought it over yesterday with all the trimmings and we had a fun time putting it up.

It's different than the trees we usually get and doesn't have any of the familiar ornaments, but this morning as I was looking at it I felt the Lord telling me, "Just as this tree is new and different and given in love, I have something new and different for you and Tim and it is something that will be given to you in My love.

What a wonderful promise and encouragement this is.

Thank you my loving, merciful, sovereign Heavenly Father.

What Joy

I woke up this morning thinking of the glow on Jenny's face last night and the joy of the anticipation of her wedding tomorrow and was reminded of the wedding ahead for us. When I think of John's excitement and think that my bridegroom/Savior has such joy over me, it amazes me. It is so good to think of the future joy awaiting us, His bride.
These earthly reminders are wonderful.

The unexpected snow today is another reminder that it's not perfect here.

Perspective

Traveling on miles can be a challenge. It took us 24 hrs, including layovers, to arrive in Glasgow for the wedding. I could put up with the frustrations and inconveniences by remembering the purpose of the trip. It was worth the troubles in the traveling to be here with John and Jenny and be a part of the lead up to and actual event of the wedding.
I need to remember this more in the "dailys" of life. When we get to Heaven and begin to enjoy the life that God has for us, the troubles we face now will just be unimportant blips. We can get through them, joyfully, by remembering how temporary they are and what wonders are ahead.
As Oswald Chambers said, "beware lest your forget your purpose."

be careful to love God

Joshua, in his final words to Israel, said, "be careful to love God."

I found myself really thinking on what that means for me today? I think I am often careless in my love for God. I allow other things to be too important, I just get lazy.

I just finished a book on Bonhoeffer and was impressed with how "careful" he was to love God, not theology, life, or even people, but God first and foremost. During a difficult stay in New York he went back to his room each night and poured over Scripture for encouragement and comfort. How often to I seek this first instead of something to distract me or "take my mind off of things?"

Lord help me to be more careful in my love for You. Help me not to take Your love for granted and to take time each day to enjoy Your love.

It's not about me!

If only I could remember this moment by moment.

God created the world to display His glory and express His love to us. All things were created through and for Jesus, not me. He is preeminent, in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and He provided peace by the blood of His cross.

Why is it so hard to remember who it is all about? Why do I spend so much of my day thinking about me, what I'm doing or planning or want? I am human and weak and need to continually remember this.

Lord, please help me today to look for what you are doing and saying, not what I want you to be doing or saying. Help me to remember that it is all about You!

Home

This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through,
my treasures are laid out somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me from heaven's open doors
and I can't feel at home in this world any more.

We sang this regularly when I was in youth group growing up. It was fun and we belted it out.
Lately this song has been playing in my mind and I must say I'm enjoying it.

Last week Tim and I went to Kennewick, the southeast corner of WA/desert, to check out a ministry possibility. It was hot and windy with lots of sagebrush. Neither of us are desert people although Tim would enjoy the sun. The church isn't very healthy at this time. Do we want to give up the nearness to family and friends and the beauty of the area we now live in? No way! However, what if this is what God has for us. What if He wants to use us to help this church and enjoy Him in the desert? Could this be possible? Could we enjoy and even love this place? Not on our own, but by the power of the indwelling Spirit, yes we could.

The above song was running through my mind during our time there and I took joy in the fact that wherever we are is temporary, not permanent. Heaven is permanent and sure and the beauty we enjoy here won't even compare to it.

I don't know if we will end up in Kennewick or not, but I know we will be able to live and enjoy the temporary home He has planned for us, wherever it may be, because...

This world is not our home...

His good pleasure

I am praying through Philippians at this time and am in chapter two. Today I came to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in your for His good pleasure."
I found myself wondering if I really believed that. I would certainly say I do, but do I live as if its true? When I find myself anxious or frustrated with things I'd have to say that I don't believe that. Am I struggling with whether He's really working of with what His good pleasure is? This has given me much to think on as I go about my day today.

Wisdom from Job

and these are but the outer fringe of His work;
how faint the whisper we hear of Him!
Who then can understand the thunder of His power?
Job 26:14

Praise to our gentle and fierce, amazing and powerful God!!

More from "Sacred Friendships"

Teresa of Avila has some good words on dealing with each others sin.

"Some seem to think that a constant style of frank, combative disruption that takes little thought for the soul or gives little heed to empathy is what God uses to crush sin. Unfortunately, what often happens with such harsh, unsympathetic confrontation is that Satan uses it to crush souls."

She refers to Gal. 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

...she (Teresa) did not stop at reconciling. Her goal was to guide the soul toward a state of rest in God's infinite love.

What a difference it might make in our fellowships if we practiced such gentle, loving help to one another.

God is Good

Randy Alcorn focused a chapter of If God is Good, on a present day heresy and concludes with a very good statement and question:

Fortunately, God will always remain who he is. The question is, as we try to modify him, what will become of us?

In chapter 17 he makes the following thoughtful statement:

When I am not convinced that God is good, I will quietly--but with tight-lipped resolve--take over responsibility for my own well-being.

God's Holy Love

Yesterday I read about Julian of Norwich, in the book Sacred Friendships by Kelleman and Ellis.
This woman understood God's love in a very real and wonderfully encouraging way.
She said:

In salvation, God acts as a Judge justifying and forgiving us, as a Creator and Physician regenerating and healing us, as a Champion and Warrior redeeming and empower us, and as a Father reconciling and comforting us.

He is our clothing, wrapping and enveloping us for love, embracing us and guiding us in all things, hanging about us in tender love, so that he can never leave us... He is everything that is good for us.

But God gives us you generously when he so wishes, and sometimes allows us sorrow, and both come from love.

Love is nearest to us all. And this is the knowledge of which we are most ignorant; for many men and women believe that God is almighty and has power to do everything, and that he is all wisdom and knows how to do everything, but that he is all love and is willing to do everything--there they stop. And this ignorance is what hinders those who most love God.

Only by intimate relationship with our God of loving holiness can we survive in and thrive above earthly suffering.

This gives me much to meditate on.

the Wonderful Blessing of God's Sovereignty

For Valentines day Tim gave me a copy of Pipers book on Ruth, A Sweet and Bitter Providence, along with some good dark chocolate.
The chocolate was great and the book even better, as usual I was challenged and encouraged by Piper. A few of the comments that spoke to me are:

There is a kind of inactive righteousness that simply avoids evil. But strategic righteousness takes the initiative and dreams of how to make things right. (his idea of righteousness is a zeal for doing what is good and right)

Our hope is based on the confidence that a sovereign God is for us.


When you believe in the sovereignty of God and that He loves to work mightily for those who trust Him, it gives a freedom and courage that isn't abandoned in hard times.

One of the great diseases of our day is trifling.

God is at work in our darkest times--for our good, and Christ's glory.

and finally:

In all the setbacks of our lives as believers, God is plotting for our joy.

Soul care and spiritual formation are receiving renewed interest in the Christian community, yet it is often hard to understand just what these terms mean. In "Beyond Suffering," by Kellemen and Edwards, these terms are described in a way that helps me understand them and shows their relevance to our Christian community.
In simplified form, he says:

Soul Care is about the evils we have suffered
"God is good even when life is bad."
It's normal to hurt--it's possible to hope

Spiritual direction is about the sins we have committed
"God is gracious even when I am sinful"
It's horrible to sin, but wonderful to be forgiven
It's supernatural to mature

He shows how the African believers helped each, other in their suffering, to continue to trust in God's goodness, in spite of man's evil and to care for each other.

It's a hard book to read, the slaves were treated horribly, but it is also a book of hope and comfort.

A High View of God

I just finished another book by Dale Cramer, one of my favorite fiction authors. The book is Levi's Will.

The book covers about 40 years in the life of an Amish man who left the fold. It shows the harshness of legalism, which we find in the church too unfortunately, and the freedom of grace and enjoying God's gifts, which is Amish family had learned.

Towards the end of the book his son makes a great observation. Comparing a character in a favorite book, who lived a life in excess, seeking whatever would bring him pleasure and in the end finding that none of it gave him life, and what he had just witnessed of the grace and simple trust of the Amish, he said of them, "They hold their God very high."

I pray that others will see this same quality in my. I want to "hold my God up very high," and live in simple faith and trust, and extravagant grace.

Breathing Grace

In his book, Breathing Grace, Dr. Harry Kraus gives a great definition of grace:

Grace is a positive characteristic that determines God's posture towards His children whereby He generously and freely loves, forgives, favors and exalts undeserving sinners into sonship.

He spends the book expanding on this idea using the medical idea of ABC. As a medical student he explains you learn the importance of A-airway, B-breathing, C-circulation in diagnosis; in the Christian life he compares this to A-acknowledging your weakness, B-believing God's word, and C-communication and uses these to help us understand our needs in learning to live moment by moment in grace.

He has a good thought of what faith is on pg. 55:

Faith is a conviction that the gospel is true and a way of thinking that stimulates action which places our lives in God's hands.

A conviction that the gospel is true is the recognition that we are not in control. We didn't earn it, work for it, or deserve it. So we rely on Christ. We lean on Him. And believing that the gospel is true brings grace into our lives.

Good things too ponder on and enjoy. He also uses some interesting examples of medical patients and situations he's been in to illustrate what he speaks of.

On my first night in Glasgow I found my mind thinking on way too much, this is what my mind does when I can't sleep.
I found myself remembering, again, an incident that took place about 30 years ago. On a family vacation we had stopped of for a view and stretch. Jenny was a bit slow getting in the car, Tim started it up, and she thought we were leaving without her. She brought this up through the years as, "Remember the time you left me." I always assured her we would never have left her, but she wasn't assured.
It was just recently that I found out she remembers sitting on a ledge as the car started, I remember seeing her at the door of the car getting in. Two perceptions, both very real, but both can't be right, can they? Which is right?
This is so true in our perception of our lives and God's perception of them. His perception is obviously right but that doesn't always help us in viewing it. Our perception seems so real. That's where trust comes in. For some reason Jenny thought we'd leave her behind, she didn't trust in our goodness and love for her. How often is that the case with us? If I know my God and trust in His goodness and love I won't be anxious about situations or how things look, or hold on to seeming injustices.
This incident has turned into a good reminder to me of God's trustworthiness and to not trust in my perceptions.

Long time no blog....

I'm reading "If God is Good" by Randy Alcorn. It's a great book. I love the following from pg. 60.

While God assures us that He will one day remove all suffering and sorrow, He will do so as a by-product of His highest purpose for us: "The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory" (Isaiah 60:19). If we come to see the purpose of the universe as God's long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of evil and suffering.

The world has gone terribly wrong.
God is going to fix it.
First, for His eternal glory.
Second, for our eternal good.

Amen!!!!