Don’t, enemy, crow over me. I’m down, but I’m not out. I’m sitting in the dark right now, but God is my light. I can take God’s punishing rage. I deserve it—I sinned. But it’s not forever. He’s on my side and is going to get me out of this. He’ll turn on the lights and show me his ways. I’ll see the whole picture and how right he is. And my enemy will see it, too, and be discredited—yes, disgraced! This enemy who kept taunting, “So where is this God of yours?”
I’m going to see it with these, my own eyes— my enemy disgraced, trash in the gutter….
Where is the god who can compare with you—wiping the slate clean of guilt, Turning a blind eye, a deaf ear, to the past sins of your purged and precious people? You don’t nurse your anger and don’t stay angry long, for mercy is your specialty. That’s what you love most.
And compassion is on its way to us. You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing. You’ll sink our sins
to the bottom of the ocean. You’ll stay true to your word to Father Jacob and continue the compassion you showed Grandfather Abraham—Everything you promised our ancestors
from a long time ago.
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:6-9 TM
This week I watched a classic movie I have not seen since I was a little girl, Old Yeller.
I watched it with both my girls who have never seen them before. Of course Emily bit her nails and clutched her pillow as Old Yeller was shot, and then said “It ends happy right, I mean it is a Disney movie it has to have a happy ending?”. It was a tragic thing for me to have to let my daughter watch. But I suppose it is a right of passage for a kid. I have probably only watched it once in my life, because I hated the ending so bad. Except this time I realized Old Yeller’s death was not the ending at all.
Let me remind you for a moment, if you don’t know, what happened. Daddy comes home and his son is at the top of the hill burying old yeller. He goes up to his son and expresses his sorrow for the boys loss and then says to him.
Now and then for no good reason a man can figure out, life will just haul off and knock him flat. Then Slam him again on the ground, until it feels like his insides is busted. But it’s not all like that, a lot of it is mighty fine. And you can’t afford to waste the good stuff frettin about the bad. That makes it all bad. …. Yeah sure, I know sayin’ it is one thing, and feelin’ it is another, but I’ll tell you a trick that sometimes helps. You start looking for good to take the place of the bad… and you can usually find it. ~Pa from “Old Yeller”
When they come down the hill there is young yeller, the pup of old yeller, and though he has rejected him many times because he was not old yeller, he now has a new perspective. He embraces the young puppy and finds joy again.
It is o.k. to find the happy things even when all the bad seems to be raining down on you. Through losses and griefs, and hurts, and tears, there is joy, It does come in the morning. Sometimes our greatest griefs and losses can catapult us into our next greatest adventures.
What is the happiest time of the year can also be the most depressing at times, realizing the old things that have not come to this new year. But you have a choice. Do you allow the bad to overshadow the new goodness around you, or do you embrace that new joy and let life pick you back up off the ground?
I wrote this a few months ago, and today I felt the need to write it again. Remember that we see dimly through colored glass, and God sees everything clearly. He has a plan, a purpose for your life. He knew exactly where you would sit today, and He knows where you will be tomorrow.
The bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Francis Scott Key penned this Line as he sat on a British ship awaiting the battle to be over. He could not tell in the dark of the night whether America was proving victorious or not. But when the bombs burst in the air in the night it provided enough glimmer of hope to Key. He could still see the flag flying and knew that meant America was winning the war.
The bible says “Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy Comes in The Morning.” (Psalm 30:5) For everything there is a season, and at the end of a season of darkness and struggle, there will be light (clear vision) and joy. When you sit in the darkness you can’t see what is in front of you, whether you are moving in the right direction, whether you are winning or losing.
Francis Scott Key found a way to find peace in the midst of the darkness, God gave him just enough light to have hope that all was well. To this day, his words inspire us to know that even in the darkness the hope is there that we are winning the battle.
As I walk through hard time I always look for the breakthrough, but while the breakthrough is coming but not here yet, God gives “bombs bursting in air” of hope. It may be the unexpected check in the mail that provides what you need for today. It may be the positive Dr.’s report that the cancer is decreasing, it may be the phone call that says I am praying for you today. It may be sharing in someone else’s victory. It may be that scripture you read this morning that you know spoke right to your circumstance. Whatever it is, the bombs bursting in air do two things: they are weapons which are destroying the enemy, and they are light for you to see, to give you a hope of victory! They are proof through the night that GOD is still there!
So today, in whatever darkness you may be consumed with, hurting finances, hurting marriage, hurting children, sickness, or whatever struggle you face, there are bombs bursting in the darkness to remind you that God is still there. He still cares and though you will not see it fully until the morning hours, you are victorious!
Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
I read a devotional today that I thought was very timely and wanted to pass it along.
Below is a piece of it, with a link to the full article. It is powerful if you are carrying a vision or dream that seems will never deliver. I hope this encourages you today as it has me!
Here we are, drawing to the end of another year, and many of us are still carrying around things that God had placed within us that have yet, much to our dismay, come to pass.
For some, it may be the promise of a new job or the start of a new relationship. While for others, it may be the desire for better health or a stronger church. Perhaps a new business venture.
Whatever the case may be, there are many of us as believers who still remain pregnant with a hope that what God promised you earlier this year will still come to pass.
Yet, here we are. It is December.
And for some of you, nothing has happened yet.
Well, I have a question for you today. This is a question that you may have to wrestle with for a little while. We did as a family…and now perhaps it is your turn.
I wanted to share, support and promote a film I am very excited about for a couple of reasons.
1) Because a friend of mine, Caleb Cubbison, is starring in it. I can not wait until he is a famous Hollywood star and I can say “I knew him when…” and
2) Because this film supports a really great project. A Mission project which will go to support buying Christmas for orphaned children in Uganda. The Uganda film Project Oasis Missions
Watch the trailer, buy the movie, do something good this Christmas!
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
(1Corinthians 13:12 TM)
While for everyone in America it was a week of giving Thanks, for me and many others a week of loss. As a Preachers Kid I have known many ministers, but among my top ten favorites, among the most genuine of all God-fearing men is Pastor Perry Keyt. Pastor Perry suffered from lung cancer for over a year. He fought the good fight of faith, and believed for his healing even in his final breaths.
Pastor Perry was many things to many people. For Ben and I he was a counselor and Pastor. He stood about 6 feet and 9 inches tall. Referred to as a “gentle giant”, his heart was as big as he was. We all believed and prayed for his healing with his family for a year, and on Wednesday afternoon at 46 years old he passed away in the hospital with his wife and a few friends beside him. At the family night on friday, the church was lined out the door for 4 hours people waiting to pay their condolences. I have never attended a funeral so big. They were in the thousands! He touched so many peoples lives, including mine.
He is a large part of the reason I began this blog. Two years ago, he counseled with Ben and I. One of the things he told me was “Girl, you got stuff in you you need to get out, but you need to believe in yourself and figure out who you are. ” He was right, and this blog was one of the first steps I took to give myself a voice.
Ironically, as I try to wrap my brain around the fact that God chose not to heal this awesome man of faith, he was the one who made me face my doubts and pains concerning Ben’s Aunt Emma’s death. She too was an awesome mighty woman of God taken out at 47 years old by a car accident. When Ben and I stepped out in faith in business, I began to realize I had lost faith in God to provide because he had not protected Emma. I had to face doubts, and anger as a result of her death I had not faced in my life. And three years later I am faced with the same questions; but with a little more understanding.
The understanding is this….. I will never understand God’s ways until heaven! Love (and faith) is blind. I will not pretend to try to explain why God chooses to heal one and not the other. I will not try to give a religious answer. I will not try to defend God. He does not need me too. What I do understand is this: He promises that while we are on this earth we will have trials and tribulations:
“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (John 16:33 TM)
And what I know to be true is this… He promises to be with us and walk us through every trial and circumstance we walk through.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2
So I thank God for all that Pastor Perry was in my life, and in the life of others. I hope that the seeds he has planted in all of us will flourish and grow to produce the sweetest fruits and harvests. And I hope when my time comes that many will say of me what we all say of Him… “A life well lived!”
“Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Mark 10:13-15
Fall is here. Hooray, Hooray, and fast approaching is Turkey Day! I am thankful for my life, my family, my home. I am so amazed at all the things God has done
Today I can honestly say this has been a year of miracles and breakthroughs for us! This will be the first time in 6 years of marriage that I can go Christmas shopping without worrying about whether I am spending the money to pay our bills or not.
I am thankful even more than the financial breakthrough in our lives, but for all the things God has taught us. The peace, and feeling of trust God has brought us to in our relationship with Him. I am beginning to understand what He meant when He asked us to “come to Me as a little Child”. It is that trust, no need to worry about anything being provided for or struggle to make things happen, cause God has it under control.
I am thankful that my girls are growing and learning more and more each day. We are all healthy, and together.
Even if you do not feel grateful today, as you begin to list the smallest thing to be thankful for you will turn your day around. It can be as small as “I am thankful I can breathe on my own”. (Because not everyone can.) So….What are you thankful for today?
If You change the way you look at things the things you look at change.
Today I am thankful for how creative God is! The fall is my absolute favorite time of year. A decorator told me recently that the color orange fights depression. Isn’t it fascinating that as the earth is actually dying away and going into dormancy, it produces the various colors of orange! It makes me happy just to drive down the road in my car these days. I confessed to a friend the other day, that I actually missed where I was going because I was so caught up in looking at the trees!
I am thankful that right now I sit in front of my fire and listen to the rustling of the leaves, oooooh the nostalgia. I can not even begin to describe that feeling, but then again I bet I do not have too! In the end it is always the simple things in life that we are most thankful for.
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise…He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready.We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.(Romans 5:1-2;7 TM)
Sunday, Anna and I had a rough day of it. We had been traveling over the weekend, she had not had a nap in a couple of days, and late nights made for a very ill 3 year old. Even taking this into consideration, she was in her rare form. Antagonistic to her sister and us, pee-pee “accidents” 3 times over the course of the day, and tantrums of destruction. I had come to my end by Sunday evening, and when we got home made her take a little nap, and an early bedtime was in her near future. (This all being for me to have a break more than anything.) Before leaving the room I told her “I love you, but your behavior today was unacceptable. And you really need to think how you can do better. ok?”
She said yes.
After some downtime,she came into the kitchen where I was. She reached her arms up to me and said nothing. I lifted her up into my arms at which point she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed as hard as she could. “Mommy, I always love you.” She said. “I know baby, and no matter what I always, love you.” In that moment all of the day had gone away. And I felt these words. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
See, Anna is 3 years old. She is, by nature, selfish and self-seeking. By nature every child and infant, though maybe innocently, is selfish and demanding. Wanting what they want, when they want it, and will cry, scream, and make your life miserable if necessary until they get it. But you love them anyway. There is this strange emotion and pull that comes over a mother when a child cries out in the middle of the night. Yes, it may get old and tiring, but ultimately we love them too much to ignore them. And why? Have they done anything to prove their love for you? Have they poured into your life anything besides their existence? Have they proven or made their selves deserving of your unconditional love? No. But yet, even on the worst of days it only takes a hug around the neck, and an “I love you” to melt away everything.
How many mothers have grown children who have cut them with their words, or embarrassed them with their actions? Yet that parent will be there as soon as that child says “Mom I need you”.
How much more is God’s love to you and me? How much more? While we were yet sinners…. He saw beyond the sin to the “I love you daddy” on the other end, and it was all worth it to Him. All He really needs and wants from you today, no matter what you have done or walked through, is to reach your arms up to Him, crawl into His arms, wrap yourself around Him and say “I Love You Daddy” and everything else melts away.
I had a rough morning, really starting last night. I cried quite a lot at the results of this election.
I told Ben when I was a teenager I did not care about Politics. However, I feel strong about honoring and praying for authority even if you do not agree with them. Bush was the first President I was able to vote for. So this is the first President I have had to commit to pray for and honor that I do not agree with.
This morning my seven year old, Emily, got up and asked me “Mama, who is our new President?” She was very disappointed in the answer. I told her well we can be excited that we are able to witness a historical day. I explained that we have never had a black President before. (She loved learning about MLK,Jr. this year, and what he did, so she fully understood the significance of this day.)
Then I told her we will continue to pray for him like we do President Bush because he will need our prayers more than ever. And I said no matter what God raises them up and God brings them down, so if he allowed Obama to go in He must have a plan.
She said “Mama. Has there ever been a female President?” I said “Not yet!” She said “I think I will be the first Female President.” Of course I high-fived her and cried again. Ben said “Well hopefully we will have a Female President before you are old enough to run.” “But You can be the BEST female President” I said. She smiled at that thought.
As she walked out the door she said “I think when we have prayer requests today I will pray for President Obama, and for the cat to stop eating birds and Squirrels.” (the cat caught a bird this morning LOL! )
This was encouraging to me to be able to teach Emily about the Democratic process, winning and losing, to explain that while we do not agree with his politics we can honor the significance of this day in history and still respect his position of authority because God commands us to.” It encouraged me because I am teaching my daughter to trust God even when we do not always understand why He allows things or does what He does.
And I had hope, hope that she will be a candidate of change in her lifetime.
I do believe in my heart God has not been de-throned, and He is still in control.
