Faith-Rest

Last week-end I attended a conference here in OKC called Deeper Still, featuring Kay Arthur, Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer along with Travis Cottrell, who was the worship leader in music. My first response is that I remember that I am not "1-of-a-9,000-women-conference-person". Not that they weren't all great..........just I guess I am not that crazy about crowds and finding parking when the Thunder was playing Celtics right across the street!!! YUCK!!!

But, with that said, I have been thinking about much that was said there. And just this week, I have been able to share it or pray about it with so many in difficult situations: no job, possibility of a growth being malignant, infertility issues, tragic murder of a close friend's family members, possible divorce, elderly parents, step-parenting issues.........to name a few!!

This is such a fallen world........the whole system and all of its influences. The wonder of all of this is that God does care, does listen, is full of lovingkindnesses to us that are new every morning...... not leftovers from some other day, goes through the fires with us, never leaving nor forsaking us. I am often blown away when I reflect on how blessed we are as His beloved children to have His very life within us to grant us the power and the peace that truly does surpass comprehension ........yes, and even apprehension.

One thing Kay Arthur said at the conference that I have pondered is "Rest is the activity of faith"!! I am thinking about the many times, when in a difficult situation, the first response is to fret not rest..........to resist not rest.........to complain not rest.........to get angry not rest. It is usually everything but rest that we do.

So, in actuality, that means, according to the inspired writer to the Hebrews, we do not believe God!! So, dear ones, based upon that fresh "refresher", I want to encourage you to put your faith to action and rest!!! Believe Him and rest!! As a group of us, who have been studying Jerry Bridges' Trusting God, have said many times to each other, it is all about His glory..........not our convenience nor our comfort.

We can help those who are hurting by interceding on their behalf that he or she can rest in His peace. We can fight the battles for each other at the feet of Jesus, on our knees, praying that their hearts and minds will be flooded with His peace, which Ephesians 2:14 tells us is Him...... HE is our Peace!! I just want to keep encouraging you to look to Jesus..........gaze not glance at Jesus.........allowing Him to give you that rest.

What To Do?

I have just in the last 12 hours read/heard about the Manhattan Declaration. When it comes to me so forthrightly in two separate ways, I really try to pay attention. The first time was enough, I thought, and has made me prayerful about my place in it all. But, just now, I happened to have 30 minutes free in the car and listened to Chuck Colson on Focus on the Family with James Dobson.

So, I put this on Facebook just now, but I realized some of you are not on it and might want to know. Many of us are really concerned about the direction our country is heading and yet wonder "What can I do?"....."What should I do?".....which is really "God, what do You want me to do, if anything?" For me, this new information has given me food for thought, especially after listening to Chuck clarify some things.

I invite you to read through this document and listen to the discussion. Then talk to God about what He would have you to do.

Amazing Life

"Life sometimes gets so bogged down in the details, you forget you are living it."

I remember this quote from a book I read last summer. When I was preparing for teaching my Bible study this week, I realized that my living recently could be described that way. It was not an "Aha!" moment as much as an "Oh no!" moment. How could I have let myself forget what an amazing life I am privileged to live??!!

What I was studying was Eph 2:11-22. My overwhelming wonder was in the phrase Paul wanted those Ephesian Gentile believers to "know about the exceeding greatness of God's power toward them" (1:15-23) was that "HE (Jesus) IS our peace"!!

We never really truly realize the greatness of God's power until we realize the greatness of the obstacles which that power has overcome. Many people today are not amazed at the Christian salvation. They see nothing at all in it; nothing astonishing!! Why? because they have never realized the problem, because they are ignorant of sin, and know nothing about the wrath. of God. They do not realize the nature of these obstacles and problems. Not only was there the obstacle of their sin, which separated them from God, but also their "state" of being excluded and strangers from the covenant of promise and were without God in the world and without hope (Eph2). Honestly, is that not the condition of all of us?

The long and short of it: Ephesians 2:14...For He Himself is our peace.

"For" connects this statement to what has gone on before. This One by whose blood we have been made nigh IS OUR PEACE!! This is one of the most glorious things that is said about the LORD Jesus Christ anywhere. Of all the terms and titles applied to Him there is none more wonderful than this. HE is our Peace.

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now that God of peace, who brought up from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen

There it is!! God is the 'God of peace'. That is a very good way of thinking of salvation; we are saved, we are Christians, simply because God is a 'God of peace'. Everything is really the result of that.

I have been reading through the Gospels the past few days. Remember when one day someone came to Him and said, 'Master, which is the first, the greatest of all the commandments:' And this was His reply: 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. That is the first and the greatest commandment. And the 2nd is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The important thing to notice is the order: First, the relationship to God; second, the relationship to your fellow man. The whole tragedy of the modern world is due to the fact that the first is entirely left out and men think you can start with the second. Man is not recognizing God, not starting with God, not submitting to God and is trying to reconcile himself to his fellow man. And of course he is not succeeding; he never can succeed.

That is the background to Paul's statement here! 'He is our peace!' Christ alone is our peace. There is no peace apart from Him. we must be in Christ before we can enjoy the blessings of God as the God of peace.

And so, after pondering the wonderful message Paul wrote to those Ephesian Gentile believers who had probably gotten bogged down in the details of life and needed a lift to the "Alps of the NT", and pouring over the writings of D. Martin Lloyd Jones on this passage.........I asked myself.......... "How could I have let myself forget what an amazing life I am privileged to live??!!

Out of the Blue

Do you wonder where a saying like...."out of the blue" comes from? Well, this is not that explanation, but more an example of what it might mean. It is that I received a call recently from somewhere out there from a long-ago friend who is coming "back here" and would like to see Monty and me.

I am just so excited that we were still on the radar for them to call us........"out of the blue"!! We just hung up after finally being able to talk voice to voice.......... you know what that means.......not on email, not on voicemail, not even snail mail!!! What a pleasant time of reunion. In fact, we are going to have a party when they come so others can enjoy them as much as we will.

Our connection goes back over 20 years ago when they were here raising their family and we were the children's youth leaders. And it has probably been over 10 years since we last saw each other. I am so thrilled to have the opportunity for us to share the goodness of the LORD and how He has graciously carried us through the inevitable trials of life.

So now.....back to "out of the blue"!! This is a reminder that one day we will be out in the blue and sharing all sorts of stories about the gracious, lovingkindness of the LORD, praising Him for He is worthy.

Sex....Now that I have your attention...read on!

Reading the Proverbs recently in the older version of The Living Bible has been such a blessing to me. I know that it has probably been 30 years since I have read the Bible in this particular version. I have given the Student Application Living Bible to high school and college graduates for many years, but decided I probably needed to read it for myself............to see if I really like what I had been giving away.

What a blessing it has been!! The notes added alongside on almost every page have been great and are still applicable to young people today. You know, the Truth never changes.

Well, back to the Proverbs. I am sure I have a heightened awareness to the verses that warn about sexual immorality so much because of the blatant lies of the enemy to young people today. We had worked with young people in our local church for 35 years. And much to our disappointment we were finding in the most recent years of ministry the onslaught of porn, sexual promiscuity and the like had increased exponentially as compared with the previous 25 years.

So, when I have come upon verses like Pr 22:14 "A prostitute is a dangerous trap; those cursed of God are caught in it"...........I stop and ponder a little longer than I would have 10-15 years ago. I scanned over many other Proverbs with similar warnings: "For a prostitute will bring a man to poverty, and an adulteress may cost him his very life. Can a man hold fire against his chest and not be burned? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? So it is with the man who commits adultery with another's wife. He shall not go unpunished for this sin. ....But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool for he destroys his own soul. Wound and constant disgrace are his lot."

I want to put in here one of the Life Application points about all of this. "Sexual sin is a temptation we cannot escape. In movies and on television, sex outside of marriage is treated as a normal--even desirable--part of life, while marriage is often shown as confining and joyless. We can even be looked down upon by others if suspected of being pure. But God does not forbid sexual sin just to be difficult. He knows its power to destroy us physically and spiritually. No one shoud underestimate the power of sexual sin. It has devastated coutless lives and destroyed families, communities, and even nations. God wants to protect us from damaging ourselves and others, so he offers to fill us--our loneliness, our desires--with Himself."

I had lunch today with my daughter who was telling me about Nightline last night, which she happened to see for the first time ever. They are doing a special on the 10 Commandments in the OT (which everybody in this country has heard of in one way or another!!). Anyway, she was telling about the panel who were expressing their "open" marriage that allowed them to have affairs, which is okay since they are open about it. The man even has a business of setting people up for "safe" affairs and he profits from it..........earns a living doing so. However, they also had Ed Young, Jr, a pastor in Tx and his congregation to give the truth about how devestating affairs are to families. Men told how they lost their families and are continuing to pay the price............children told how horrible it was for them, etc.

So, I guess I just had to get this down in written form because I, too, have seen the destruction that comes to people when they choose to allow their sexual lust dictate "the rest of the story"......rather than using self-control and following purity for peace, joy and lasting relationships. Dear friends reading this.............please heed the warnings Scripture clearly gives. God is not kidding!!!

P.S. One final thought: I know the idea sexual immorality conveyed often is about "adultery" which technically means sex with another man's wife or another woman's husband. Just think about this, young man....if you are not married and think it is okay to have sex now and it is not adultery......well, whose wife will she someday be??? Probably not yours!! So she is another man's wife. OR, young lady, whose husband will he someday be? Probably not yours!! So he is another woman's husband. So it is adultery, even if you aren't married yet!!! And, if you are going to marry that person someday and you think it is okay............ what makes you so sure one of you won't think it's okay later to have sex with someone else "because you 'can't wait'"?

Be Happy!

For the many years Monty and I spent training our four children to become respectable citizens of our home, the community, our country, the world...........I often wished that my words had more power than they actually did. Over and over I longed for the words "Be Happy!" to be magical in that they produced the product I desired...........happiness for my children.

Well, as you know so well, happiness is a choice and cannot be imposed upon another human being, but can only be brought about by the decision of each person. You probably have often heard, as have I, that happiness is happenstance, and depends upon the circumstance that is most agreeable to the individual. Unhappy circumstance, unhappy person!! Right??

Well, watch this for a little challenge to your thinking. I have seen this video several times and am always touched by his always-timely message.

God will deal with the wicked!!!

Loved reading this, this morning, after all the "news" and emails I read last night....."LORD, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer. Will You permit a corrupt government to rule under your protection--agovernment permitting wrong to defeat right? Do you approve of those who condemn the innocent to death? No! The LORD my God is my fortress--the mighty Rock where I can hide. God has made the sins of evil ment to boomerang upon them!! He will destroy them by their own plans. Jehovah our God will cut them off." Psa 94:19-23

Conflict

Is it possible to go through a day without some sort of conflict? I have been wondering about this ever since we spent a week last month at a family camp in one 12x15' room with 2 adults and four children, with wall to wall "beds" and suitcases!!

All things considered, the week went really well...........almost!! Except for one exceptional night of conflict. One of the grandchildren was way out of sorts and just had to let it all out. It happens, you know!! And that is what precipitated my thoughts down this runway!! I call it a runway, because my tendency is to want to just "take off" and leave it all behind, hoping (I guess) it will resolve itself. But, at my "mature" age, I know better!!

So, since that time, I have just been so much more aware of the instances of conflict in day to day life. Even in my reading in the Psalms the past couple of weeks, it has just jumped off the pages. And now I am preparing lessons to teach Ephesians in a few weeks and have been struck by the reason for Paul's writing Ephesians............to give the news that the "wall of conflict" had been torn down by the blood of the cross..........the wall that separated Jew and Gentile for millenniums.

There are the personal conflicts that are from within.........everything from what to eat, where to eat, what to buy to eat and what not to buy to eat, who will eat what and who won't, .....then let's go to clothing, or housework, or homework, or yardwork, or just "work". On and on it goes. Conflict can occur in small things and in huge issues.............like Health Care!!! Or taxes!! Or religion!!

But, when I went into my sanctuary...........my quiet place ("A glorious throne on high from the beginning Is the place of our sanctuary." Jeremiah 17:12) ........meditating on some Scripture, the LORD reminded me (from Ephesians) that HE Himself is our peace. He is the end of all conflict. Eph 2:14, 17. He preached peace to those who were far off...........Gentiles.........and to those who were near............Jews. In other words, Jesus preached Peace to everyone. Peace is the absence
of conflict.

Back to that night of conflict in our tiny room, I understand why I had this overwhelming, urgent need to pray. It was the only way Peace would be brought near!! Thank You, Jesus, my Prince of Peace!!!

"Death is not dying" by Rachel Barkey

I just listened to this wonderfully inspiring testimony of a relatively young mother, 37 years old, who was dying of cancer. Another friend has this post on her facebook, but I just want to make sure others hear the Truth about death and dying. So powerful. Enough said! Take the next and hour and listen for yourself!!

In my favorite 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers is this great quote to God "You are too wise to ever make a mistake, too loving to ever do anything unkind." Listen to Rachel Barkey make sense of that. http://deathisnotdying.com/

Rachel Barkey (nee Sawer) went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. Rachel is survived by her husband Neil and her children Quinn and Kate, parents Ben and Cathy Sawer, brother David (Johanna) Sawer and sister Andrea Sawer.

Reformation Takes Time

Last week Monty and I watched "John Adams", an HBO mini-series,htthttp://www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/p:// that Ty and Kaylyn gave to us. We highly recommend it to all, as we thoroughly enjoyed the great presentation of the formulation of the United States of America.

One of the statements that John wrote to his beloved wife Abigail was: "Not having you in my life would be the ruination of me." She was such a godly wife with great wisdom and grace, well-deserving of such recognition by John. He wisely sought her counsel and listened to her insights, benefitting from her perceptions over and over.

It was a challenge to me in my relationship with Monty..........that I would be a grace-filled woman who wisely counsels him because of having Jesus in my life. I took John's statement to Abigail and thought about my relationship with the LORD and that "Not having HIM in my life would be the ruination of me!!!!" What I have to offer my husband is only as deep as my commitment to the LORD Jesus and His Word.

One other interesting thing in watching this series was the insights into the character of Thomas Jefferson and of Benjamin Franklin. I mentioned in my post the other day about reading Rosenberg's wonderful book, Inside the Revolution. Well, the correlation between the reformers in the American Revolution and the movement of the Muslim Reformers Rosenberg explains so well in his book is thought-provoking. Reform takes time. Let me whet your appetite for an interesting read with the following quote from the book (pg 217).

"What is so fascinating and compelling to me about this movement of Reformers is that while they see the world through the lens of the Qur'an--whether for religious reasons or merely cultural ones--they simultaneously agree with Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in America's Declaration of Independence that all people have been 'endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'"

I will stop there and just encourage you to get the book and be amazed at what God is doing!!! (This is not a paid commercial!!!!!)

BOOK REVIEW:
INSIDE THE REVOLUTION Inside the Revolution takes you inside the winner-take-all battle for the hearts, minds and souls of the people of the Middle East. It includes never-before-seen profiles of the Radicals, the Reformers, and the Revivalists. It explains the implications of each movement and the importance of each leader – not only through the lenses of politics and economics but through the third lens of Scripture as well. Today, wars and revolutions define the modern Middle East, and many believe the worst is yet to come.

Sons and Daughters of the Pioneers

Living in Oklahoma brings the unique celebration of "89er's Day", which is a day commemorating the land run in 1889. It is at the end of April, and I found out a few days before that two of my grandchildren needed costumes for their school festivities. So, I whipped out a dress, bonnet and apron for the girl and some pants with fringe on the sides for the boy. Well, with 12 other grandchildren, it became "Well, I want one, too!!" So, here is the final result.....well, almost!! Now I have finished the Davy Crockett hats, but haven't had the boys here to photograph them. But this was a fun day for all 14 of them to be here together.

My prayer for each one of them is that they will be sons and daughters of King Jesus who are willing pioneers for His kingdom and territory here on earth, sharing His good news to their generation.

10/40 Window

A couple of interesting things have happened to me recently that have caused me to praise the Most High that He is The Ancient of Days, who knows the beginning from the end and everything before and after. I love that phrase in Daniel that helps us to know that no matter what may seem wrong or unjust to us, God is there as the Ancient of Days and He has all of the facts and is the perfect One to judge the living and the dead. I try to keep that in perspective when I lack understanding about what I would call delays, but are really right on time in His time piece.

Today is July the 4th and we have so many reasons to be thankful for our freedoms in this amazing country. Yes there are flaws and disappointments in the decisions being made in DC these days, but the LORD has been bringing it all into perspective for me in recent months.

Now to bring this all to my two interesting things: Several years ago, probably 25 or so, at a missions conference at my church where I was challenged in my spirit to pray for the unreached people groups of the world to get the Bible translated into their own language. The name on the card given to me was the Karen-Paku of Burma. So, for over two decades, probably closer to three, I prayed for this people group as the LORD brought them to my mind, even though I knew very little about them. Neither did anyone else I asked.

When I went through the facility of Wycliffe Bible Translators in Orlando a few years ago, I learned that that region had a name change, which often happens when new regimes move in and take control. The new name of the same people who needed the Word of God in their own tongue was Myanmar. And through the catastrophic cyclone, the whole world’s eyes were suddenly on my very own “Karen-Paku”…………..with believers everywhere praying for them in their devastation…….joining me in praying that God would reveal Himself to them and meet their needs. WOW! That was huge to me.

The second realization that has come more recently has been through the reading of Joel Rosenberg’s wonderful book, Inside the Revolution.http://www.joelrosenberg.com/ Do you remember, those of you old enough to have been praying in the 80’s, the awareness of the needs for hearing the gospel in the 10/40 window? I can remember hearing that phrase for the first time and having no clue as to what it meant. (For the sake of you readers who might not have been born then or at least not old enough to understand the challenge to pray fervently for the masses of people in the 10/40 window ……………the area of the world between 10 and 40 latitudes of the world). This is predominantly Islamic countries.

I want to quote one small part of Rosenberg’s book that brought me to my knees in worship and thanks for God’s faithfulness to hear and answer prayers. “In the last 20 years, more Iranians have come to Christ [than in] the last 14 centuries,……………..At the time of the Islamic revolution in 1979, there were only about five hundred known Muslim converts to Jesus inside the country. By 2000, a survey of Christian demographic trends reported that there were 220,000 Christians inside Iran, of which between 4,000 and 20,000 were Muslim converts. And according to Iranian Christian leaders I interviewed for this book, the number of Christ-followers inside their country show dramatically higher between 2000 and 2008.” pg.384-385

Prayer is not a new thing to me, nor is the total belief that God not only hears my prayers, but delights in having me come to Him. And such answers to prayer is why I write………..to encourage you to trust Him, even when you are praying for a people group you have never heard of before to get the Bible in their own language, as strange as that may seem……………or for a section of the world that seems completely disinterested in the claims of Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, the Life.

Don’t underestimate the Ancient of Days with your impossible prayers!!!

Quiet Times

Recently, most of my mornings have begun with small children in the early hours wanting to sit on my lap and cuddle while I am reading my Bible!! It might have been out on the patio with a cup of coffee and the crisp beauty of the early morning sun coming up high enough to warm us, or in "my prayer chair" where much of my time is spent in quietness with the LORD..........or, even more recently these past few days, on the sofa in Kaylyn's living room here in Lakewood, CO.

It has made me flash back about 30+ years to when our children were little (like our grandchildren now) and they would come downstairs in the early hours to do the same thing. I remember telling them when they asked what I was doing that I was having my "quiet time with the LORD". Then next question was: "What's that?"! And deja vu happened when one of my grandchildren asked the same thing!!! And my answer was the same as it was 3 decades ago......"It is like I am sitting in my Daddy's lap, cuddling with Him, listening to Him, talking with Him first thing in the morning, just like you are with me! It is how I like to start my day!!"

Praise the LORD..........some things never change!!!!

One Liners

I recently read a book and these are one liners in there I loved..........................

"There's nothing worse than silence, strung like heavy beads on too delicate a conversation."

"When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

"There is a Murphy's Law to oncology, one which is not written anywhere but held in widespread belief: if you don't get sick, you won't get well."

"He smiles at me, and I suddenly am seventeen again---the year I realized love doesn't follow the rules, the year I understood that nothing is worth having so much as something unattainable."

"............whom I have not seen in fifteen years. Her hair is longer now, and fine lines bracket her mouth, parentheses around a lifetime of words I was not around to hear."

"I nod. But it feels like we are sitting on the tight bench of a bus with a stranger between us, one that neither of us is willing to admit to or mention, and so we find ourselves talking around him and through him and sneaking glances when the other one isn't looking."

"Life sometimes gets so bogged down in the details, you forget you are living it."

Mediation

We all probably have played the role of mediator in one situation or another: breaking up a quarrel among children who are saying "she said this..........he said that...........she did this.........he did that" , among classmates in school, among our siblings, or maybe our parents!!, or even church friends arguing over various opinions on a committee. You can imagine your own scenario.

This morning I was reading in 1 Kings 17-19 about Elijah, the prophet to Israel (the Northern Kingdom), and was struck by the role he had to play as mediator between God and various people in Israel....... from a widow, to the king and queen, to the masses!!!

Recently I have become more familiar with the whole world of mediation, in a "professional sense". And there are some observations I made, that I see over and over in Scripture (not necessarily in order of importance).
1) the role of the mediator is to communicate each view to the other person or persons, impartially and accurately.
2) the necessity on the part of the mediator is to listen, being quick to listen and slow to speak
3) the goal of mediation IS NOT the happiness of the individuals who are in conflict
4) the goal of mediation IS to bring the parties involved to a decision they are willing to "live with" from then on
5) sometimes in mediation there is the need for an advocate, someone who knows my situation or position and can represent that to others for me
6) peace comes about through sacrifice
7) sometimes the mediation does not succeed because the opposing parties are not willing to see the true value of the required terms for peace

So, what has blessed me in all of this has been what I have seen in Scripture about how God is always revealing to us insights into Who He is through practical illustrations. 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is only one God and one Mediator Who can reconcile God and people. He is the Man Christ Jesus." So Jesus has the role of communicating back and forth both positions between the opposing parties, God and all of us.

The next thing I saw was 1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Now Jesus not only mediates for reconciliation, but also pleads for us before the Father.

And then this is what impressed me the most!! He not only communicates to me what the Father expects me to "live with" to be in harmony with Him and no longer at odds, and even pleads with the Father my condition.............but 2 Cor 5:21 "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ!" That is an astounding truth. He is the mediator, the advocate, and the agent of reconciliation or the actual terms of making the peace possible!!

Back to my experience of the mediation process..........there was the mediator, and there were advocates for the various people on either side of the issue, but the peace that was made was not done by the mediator nor the advocate. They were not willing, in and of themselves, to fulfill the terms necessary for peace. It would have been too costly for them. Peace is always achieved by the sacrifice of someone.

If the terms of peace are rejected, the cost for one or both parties could be a devastating decision.

Ephesians tells us that He Himself is our Peace!!! Now that is GRACE!! Hallelujah!! What a Savior!!

Passageways

Isn't it strange to think about passageways? I really have not spent much time there........until today!! And for some reason, I looked at the doorways in my house as I was going from room to room to do various tasks in the different rooms. Some tasks were connected from room to room, but mostly, each room had its own task to be done.

For instance, going from the hall into one of the bedrooms..........which usually has the purpose of people sleeping in there, lately mostly grandchildren!! Once in awhile, some extra guests come along and so it sort of serves as a Bed 'n Breakfast sort of deal. But most recently, it has been my "Norma Rae's Sweat Shop"...........a named coined by Monty when I am doing hours(days) of sewing. {If you haven't seen Sally Field's Oscar performance as Norma Rae, check it out!}

But, back to my topic at hand.......passageways!!

I think my thoughts have been something like this. We don't stay in passageways!! They lead us to something else where more time will be spent than in the passageway! I sort of feel like our family has been in a passageway with Gwyneth for the past 9 months and now we are in the "room" called "Divorced"!

This is an unfamiliar place for all of us, but most obviously for Gwyneth and her children. For these past months, it felt like we were stuck in a passageway that was taking us from the known to the unknown..............on many levels. So many thoughts, musings, questions, tears, prayers, actions/reactions, waiting, seeking wisdom ~ all took place in that passageway!! And now she, they .......we, her family and friends, are doing life together in a new room.

The phrase that keeps coming to my mind about the many extremely hard times in that passageway is "This too shall pass!" When you are stuck in a passageway, it seems as though it is going to be like this forever!

I admire Gwyneth for her steadfast trust in the LORD to complete what He had begun in her last August 9th, when she first entered that passageway that would take her from married to divorced. She knew what God was saying to her and she never doubted His voice. And two days ago, He so emphatically confirmed His Word to her when she moved out of the passageway and into the new room where He is going to make Himself known to her in new ways. In time, He may reveal some of the ways that has been for her good and for His glory. Already she has seen the goodness of His timing and is thankful for that.

We have all experienced the blessing of the Body of Christ coming together in prayer, in ministering, in sharing, in giving, in counseling, in bearing one another's burdens on so many levels. And for that we are so grateful. Divorce does not happen just to the two people, it happens to families...............and the family of Christ Jesus.

And until He takes us home to be with Him we live in a passageway!

Abiding in Grace

Sometimes, the opening and closing of the back door with the grandchildren going in and out, in and out, in and out, can make me get TJs (as my children would know......tight jaws). I don't get TJs like I used to when there were four children of my own, plus all their friends, making incessant demands on my time. So, it is kind of surprising to me that in the past three minutes of sitting here at my desk, the patio door opening and closing at least 10 times, has me wanting to write about this. To make matters worse, the door sticks and so it is an exaggerated opening and "slamming" that is creating the TJs.

I always thought that by the time I would be in my 6th decade of life things like that wouldn't bug me!! But it goes to show me that the old sin nature..........of wanting things done my way.........never dies and never improves with time. I still need the grace of the Holy Spirit to empower me to let things slide that don't really matter. The four girls playing in the back yard are way more important than not being bothered by slamming doors!!

So......while thinking about all of this, I find myself searching my heart...........or rather the LORD shining His light into my heart to show me what other"issues" are in my life that show me I need His grace to make it. It is all of life!!.

Yesterday we finished our Bible study on grace. And when I was asked last night if I could define what grace is, I heard a voice that sounded just like mine uttering something I could grasp and not forget. Grace is the power of God by His Spirit that saved me, that will one day take me to glory to be with Him and that now sanctifies me, empowering me to do things He has prepared beforehand for me to do. That is the one major thing I saw in Scripture........ that those three words can be used interchangeably for grace.

And then this morning I was reading in I Sam 16 when Samuel anointed David to be king in front of his brothers and father, long before he was ever crowned as the king of Israel. And there were those three words...........well two of the them were written and one was obviously there in between the lines. 16:13 "So David stood there among his brothers. Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it upon David's head; and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him and gave him great power from that day onward." And clearly, it was by grace that he was chosen by God.

So, back to the TJs. Just as David failed, even with the power of Jehovah' s Spirit upon him, so do I sometimes, even with His grace, his power, His Spirit at work in me both to will and to do His good pleasure. And much like David, who did not repeat his sin but forsook it, I desire to live with a clean heart that will choose to walk uprightly and have right reponses to children who are slamming doors. "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

He Is Risen Indeed!!

Well, I am back home after our wonderful 10 day trip to Rota, Spain and surrounding areas, only to find myself going through my 68 emails, some of which I read while there, but others had to wait until now.

On Thursday night in Rota, (the night before Good Friday) we tried to get some sleep before our 5:00 a.m. wake-up-time to begin what turned out to be a 24-hour awake time before getting in our own bed at home. It was sometime during one of the three plane rides that I thought about the Thursday night before Good Friday over 2,000 years ago that Jesus had to endure..........sleepless, beatings, scourging, mockery, being "on trial" illegally ..........before being nailed to the cross!!! And then during that 6 hours on the cross, He took the punishment of my sin and became sin for me that He would bear the separation from the Father so that I would not have to be eternally separated from Him. Praise be to Him for His indescribable gift of grace that was secured when He arose from the grave!! Hallelujah! What a Savior!! And it is in Him I believe and move and have my being!!

And if you want to read, see, hear what is going on around the world this Easter that is so exciting, this is a site you will want to visit, with a very interesting video. And here is an article about how more ex-Muslims will be celebrating Easter this year.

We are living in exciting days. And my prayer is that you aren't missing any of it by being ignorant of what God is doing!!

One Final Day in Espana

April 9

This is how the beautiful day began.........sitting on our balcony....watching Monty gaze into "his" ocean one last morning.

After that he rode the bike and I walked the four miles along the beach and then back through the town of Rota, stopping to peak into the local cathedral as they were making final preparations for the Holy Day tomorrow. One interesting observation I have noted, while being here, is that everywhere we have gone this week you see only images of Jesus as a baby, on the cross, or as a dead body in the arms of Mary and the other women. There is not much about His life, or His resurrection!!

I am so thankful I worship the risen LORD Who is Victor over death and lives victoriously in me!!!

Then for the afternoon, Monty, Stacey and I left Lanny and the children here at the Villa, picked up their friend Elena Parker and headed for Jerez for a wonderful tour of the Gonzales Bodega Tio Pepe, which is where Sherry and Brandy and other wines are made. We learned more than I will ever remember, but one main thing is that authentic Sherry, to be called "Sherry", must come from one of the three-cities-triangle here in Espana. These barrels are stacked four high and go for rows and rows and rows, in bodgea (cellar) after bodega. And the fragrance was wonderful!!

As a part of the tour, we chose to enjoy an equestrian luncheon which entertained us with a Flamenco dancer whose "partner" was a horse, a very impressive horse and his caballero. It was quite a show! They served us a light Spanish traditional tapas of cheese, jamon (cured ham) little breads and, of course, samples of two different types of Tio Pepe Sherry. You can also see behind us barrels with flags representing all of the 115 countries who receive their exported Sherry, one of which is the USA!!


One of the bodegas had barrels signed by famous people who had visited there throughout the decades. I put a photo here of one signed by Picasso (who was Italian by birth, but a Spaniard in life). Others were signed by Winston Churchill, Prince Philip and Lana Turner....to name a few.

This was a perfect ending to a perfectly wonderful vacation to Rota, Spain, thanks to Lanny, Stacey, Caleb, Katie Jo, Seth, Bethany, and Joshie Groves!!! Hasta luego!!!

More of Espana!!

April 8

This was a day for local sights and experiences. First it was a trip to the gypsy market here in Rota that happens every Wednesday morning. The 9 of us walked down to the market, where Lanny and Stacey were surprised by the crowds. Since it is Spring Break here, there were way more people than usual (so they said). SO it was a little tricky keeping track of the 5 kiddos....and your purse!!! Bethie was typically enthralled with the snails!!!




Later we went to a local restaurant which is a favorite of the American military. We loved it!! The atmoshpere and food were the best so far!! It is called Las Tinajas (pronounced 'ten-a-haus"). The skewers were fantastic chicken and pork tenderloin ka-bobs!! Such great presentation!!! So much yummy food!! It required an afternoon siesta for Monty and Lanny and a bike ride down to the beach along the pasaeo for me. (No photos of that....I was too busy pedaling the four miles or so!!)

One more for the day

I just had to add these photos. This is how I start my day, sitting on our balcony, reading my Bible while taking in this beautiful view. This is a little natural harbor here in Rota, Spain.

Cadiz, where we visited today, is out there in the distance off to the left. (top right)

Cadiz

April 7

Well, today was another venture out for the four of us, trying not to act like the American tourist that we are!! But after dropping off the 5 kiddos with another friend, it didn't take long for us to show our true colors. We sat at the place to catch the ferry to ride over to the peninsula of Cadiz (pronounced Ca dith) for a bit too long before we found out it was not going.............it was broken!! No wonder there was no ferry there, and it was supposed to leave in five minutes!! Only American toursits would sit there that long before finding out .......No Ferry Today!! So, we drove the 45-60 minutes.......well by "we" I mean Lanny!! Of course, parking was the concern, but my favorite verse proved true once again..."The LORD preserveth the simple."

Our first stop was one of the plazas, but this one was at the Cathedral de Cadiz, which was being set up for something big for Passion week. Here are a couple of the photos there with Monty and Stacey and Lanny. It was a bit chillier than what we had been experiencing and so we worked really hard to stay in the sun and out of the wind.

Cadiz, Spain is fascinating; it´s the oldest city in Europe. Almost entirely surrounded by water, the city appears isolated. It stands on a peninsula jutting out into the bay, dramatically defining the surrounding landscape. It is approximately 3,000 years old, settled initially by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans have all settlled here at one point over the years. One of the places we visited today was the Museo de Cadiz which displayed the oldest sacarphogi from the Phonecians, many Roman statues, and other ancient finds.

The old central quarter is probably the most beautiful part of the city. It´s famous for its picturesque charm. Here you´ll find some spectacular buildings, and all just a few meters from the coast. The narrow and cobbled streets open out onto pretty little squares. People sit outside in cafes all day long enjoying the heat, and gazing up at the Moorish architechture.

Without a doubt one of the unique experiences was in the market place in the older part of the city. It is exactly like you would imagine the outdoor market to be.............open tables of fresh fruit, produce, and lots of fresh fish............all kinds, eyeballs and all!! Too bad there is no smell on here. But just a few photos to give you an idea. That is an eel, skinned!!

However, don't feel sorry for us!! We found the perfect way to end a perfect day!!!

Seville

April 4
Today Lanny, Stacey, Monty and I drove an hour and a half to Seville while a friend of theirs from the Bible study came with her two children and stayed with the 5 Groves kiddos. It was such a sweet sacrifice for Krista to do that. (If you ever read my blog....Thanks so much!!!)

Seville is the fourth largest city in Spain. The population is around 710,000. The good thing about going there on a Saturday is that they all leave for the week-end to go to place like Rota, where we left. So, it actually turned out to be an easy day for getting around the city. We had an easy time parking, even....which made Lanny very happy indeed!! He was pleased with the stress-free drive in the city!!

We first visited the beautiful Plaza de Espana that was built only in 1927 for the Expo '29. The tile work was beautiful. Stacey and I bought some black and white etchings from the artist himself there in the Plaza. We also bought some scarves from the vendors there for the bargain price of 5 Euros (anyway, she told me it was a bargain!!!).

From there we walked to the Cathedral of Seville, where the remains of Christopher Colombus are in a fancy sarcophagus held by four statues. It was pretty impressive!! Of course, it dates back to the early 16th century. I laugh when I visit "historical" places in the USA on the East Coast where things are 200 years old!! Big deal!! We saw things that dated back to the 1100's!! In fact, they have trees in the parks that are older than America!!

The Cathedral is now reckoned to be the world's largest church. There are steps from inside the Cathedral to the top of the 90m high Giralda which is the minaret of the former Mosque. The climb to the top provides some great views but they warn some to stay at the bottom and buy the postcard if you've got a weak heart! But we climbed it........and Monty made it all the way up and down!! Praise the LORD! It was quite a climb.....for all of us!! But what a great view of the city. (You might remember that his cardiologist told us that he could make this trip at his own risk!! He wasn't telling us not to come, but couldn't give him a clean bill of health either!!) So, for those of you praying for him.........THANKS!!

There is nowhere else in Spain that complies so closely with the foreigner's perception of stereotypical Spain as Seville. For it is here that flamenco, bullfighting and fiesta are a way of life, none of which we personally experienced. Much of it begins the two weeks after Easter. We saw them setting up chairs all around the cathedral for upcoming parade for Holy Week. So, we are thinking we came at the perfect time..........before all the masses arrived!!

view of the largest bullring in Spain from the Tower of Giralda

Our Trip to Rota, Spain

April 1, 2009
As I sit here in O’Hare airport in Chicago waiting for our departure flight to Madrid, Spain, I cannot help but think about how small our world really is. Flying here just a short while ago from OKC and looking down over the city of Chicago, I was just thinking about all of the people in all of those houses, in all of those skyscraper offices and hotels along Lake Michigan, all of the cars, trucks, vans, buses going to and fro across the city………….and how HUGE God is!! I began to multiply the facts of the lives of the people in this one city by the six billion people around the world. And He knows the number of hairs on every head!!! For God SO loved the world that He gave…………….!!

Monty and I watched a fantastic video recently called The Privileged Planet that was done by scientists who had discovered, through a solar eclipse in India, that we are the only planet that could possibly have life. I am not a scientist (not by any stretch of the imagination) but I was able to track with them how this is so. And it was fascinating. Check it out. But, that piece of information, along with another movie clip I mentioned several posts back, that was referenced in Francis Chan's book Crazy Love on how small we are compared to the other galaxies of the heavens, have all been stirring in my mind about how significant the resurrection really is.

Paul stated it well in I Cor 15 when he said that if there were no resurrection of Jesus, then we are, or all people, most miserable (my loose paraphrase)and to be most pitied. But, instead, because I believe completely in the reality of the resurrection, I am to be envied, not pitied, because I have the amazing assurance of what will happen to me when I die. Such great peace floods my heart because it is all by His grace that I am His and He is mine. It puts all of this smallness of the world into perspective. I am significant to God because His Son died for me and His Spirit dwells within this temporary body that will one day be resurrected because 2,000 years ago the stone was rolled away and the tomb was found by many witnesses to be empty. He is risen!! The LORD is risen indeed!

11 hours later…2:00.a.m. Oklahoma time and 9:00 a.m. here, in the Madrid Airport waiting for our next flight to Jerez, which I have learned to pronounce correctly after several corrections when I asked about check-in and gate information. I will try to spell the pronunciation phonetically…………gggghhhhareth……that is a guttural gggghhhh, by the way!

Anyway, what a beautiful airport ~state of the art!!! Very classy looking people, shops, and clothing!! Not exactly like Will Rogers WORLD Airport in OKC!! We have about three hours to kill, so wwe can do a lot of people watching!!

On our flight from O’Hare to here we were accompanied by six blind people with their seeing eye dogs, which were the most amazing animals!! Very impressive.....I am thinking that is the best kind of dog to have!!! It was a Spaniard airline, Iberia, and the majority of announcements, given in both Spanish and English, were not understandable to either of us. It made me think of how God forced the people to populate the earth as He had said for them to do after the flood. Remember how they disobeyed that command and huddled together to build their own tower to heaven (Gen 10&11)!! So God confounded their languages. And now the world is populated, with lots of different languages. And the interesting thing about that is that we (believers) are now trying to conquer those languages in order to get the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world .... to every tongue, tribe and nation!!!

April 3
Rota, Spain at Victory Villa
We finally arrived here yesterday afternoon at 2:15, which would have been 7:15 A.M. in OKC.........about 21 hours after getting to Will Rogers World Airport!! It was a sleepless night of travel, but well worth it to be here with Lanny and Stacey Groves, and their five children: Caleb, Katie Jo, Seth, Bethany, and Joshua, ages 8,7,5,4,15 months at their beautiful beach front home that overlooks the natural harbor, just around a small peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. I have mentioned Stacey before and her blog. You can read more about their ministry here (http://www.victoryvilla-spain.blogspot.com/) with Cadence Int, which offers this Hospitality House to US military overseas, which happens to be to those stationed at Rota Naval Station, right next door. We are looking foreard to meeting some of them when they come tonight for dinner and Bible study time when Monty will get to share with them how helpful the Hospitality House was to him when he was flying rescue helicopters in Thailand during the Viet Nam War in 1968-69!

This is so beautiful we may never go home!!

Banking on the Basics

Finding a title for this post was hard to do.........mainly because I am not sure which direction I am going. There are some things the LORD has been teaching me recently in some of my reading. I do see a common thread, but whether or not I join the pieces together at this juncture is still unknown to me. I think what is most on my heart is something that often comes up in my writing.........in my living, actually. That is God's sovereignty.

Three "studies", if you will, I am doing right now are: 1) Trusting God by Jerry Bridges (which I mentioned a long time ago.........and the group is still plodding along to get all the gems out of it, not hurriedly obviously), 2) LORD, I Need Grace To Make It Today by Kay Arthur and thirdly is a book I am slowly digesting by John Piper. 3) Spectacular Sins..and their global purpose in the glory of Jesus Christ. I mention these because one of the common threads is the amazing sovereignty of God.

For me, there is no greater foundation for my faith-walk than understanding, well maybe it is not so much understanding as much as believing confidently in His sovereignty. I cannot kid you nor myself into thinking that I understand it..........certainly not well enough to answer all the questions such a doctrine raises. But, with assurance, I can say that Scripture clearly teaches it and makes not apologies for it.

I think the most recent security check in my belief system came a couple of days ago when Monty and I were at the cardiologist's office for a follow-up from Monty's recent hospital stay. We reminded Dr. Kerns that we have a trip scheduled to Rota, Spain to see Lanny and Stacey Groves and their five children (who are our "family" without genetics), which is where they are ministering with Cadence Int. You can read more about them on Stacey's blog

Anyway, my point on sovereignty is that Dr. Kerns said we could go "at our own risk". My mind immediately jumped to God's sovereignty. We could stay here and wait for nothing/something to happen to him (he is still in atrial-flutter, which is not desirable)or go there and wait for something/nothing to happen!! It really is all in God's control. Both Monty and I are about living and not waiting to die. SO, we are excitedly awaiting the date for our departure to beautiful Rota, Spain, and I might add.....with great peace because of His sovereignty. What an amazing God we serve.

Psa 112:7 "He(she) does not fear bad news nor live in dread of what may happen for he(she) is settled in his(her) mind that Jehovah will take care of him(her)."

Hearing God

This morning, in early church.......really early since we had to set our clocks forward...I gave this brief testimony on hearing God. It was requested in my SS class that I post it on my blog. So.....by popular (or not so popular) demand......

“ Hearing God? A daring idea, some would say—--presumptuous and even dangerous. But what if we are made for it? What if the human system will not function properly without it? There are good reasons to think it will not. The fine texture as well as the grand movements of life show the need. Is it not, in fact, more presumptuous and dangerous to undertake human existence without hearing God?

Among our loneliest moments, no doubt, is the time of decision……..”

That is a quote in the preface from a great book Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God written by Dallas Willard.

When asked if I would give a brief testimony about how I hear and follow God’s guidance in my life, it led me on a journey down memory lane. I want to take you there this morning, praying that it will be helpful and give God the glory due Him.

When I was 17 years old, God brought a godly young man into my life because He wanted me to learn how to hear His voice and follow Him, which I thought I already knew all of that. After all, I had already been a Christian for 12 years!!

After a few months of dating and writing letters back and forth,(he was a senior in college and I a senior in high school….no cell phones or texting or email) he suddenly wrote me a “Dear John” letter (didn’t even know my name after all that time). I remember it went something like this.

“Dear Carolyn, After spending some time in prayer and in the Word this past week-end at a conference, God has made it clear to me that I need not to see you any more…………..”

I wondered why God hadn’t told me that…………..if we were both praying to the same God, which I knew we were. How come this came as such a shock to me?? Maybe some of you have asked that question….”Why did she/he hear from God and I didn’t?.....”

And that began my spiritual journey of seeking to hear and know His voice. The first thing that occurred to me was that I was the one doing all of the talking to God and I was not a very good listener, because I didn’t think He was talking to me. I didn’t know how to listen.

Then it became so important to me to take in God’s Word more consistently, more intentionally.

First I began with hearing it, with a pen and paper in hand, loving exegetical, expository teaching of the Word.

That whet my appetite for more, so I started reading the Bible through each year with The Daily Walk.

After many years, I was finding that reading it and hearing it taught to me were not enough, so I began studying Scripture inductively, asking the 5 "w's and H": who, what, when, where, why and how…….PLUS writing in my prayer journals what He was teaching me about Himself.

Since I was trying to get the Word into my heart, memorizing was always a part of my interaction with the LORD, praying many verses I was learning back to Him as requests as well as praise.

And before I really knew it, I found myself meditating on the Word most of my days, working around the house, driving children all over the city, just talking with Him about His Word and what He was showing me, day in and day out.

As the years went by, knowing that He IS with me……….Emmanuel……. I noticed that I was very comfortable with decisions, large and small, because I understood His sovereignty and had confidently gotten to know His character in an intimate way……..as with a trusted friend.

So, you see, I really don’t have anything knew………..it is spiritual breathing ……inhaling His Word………exhaling praise back to Him as He lives His life through me.

With many years in His Word, it was clear to me that He was leading me, guiding me…..through Scripture, prayer, His Spirit and trusted friends who also were in the Word, praying and being led by His Spirit.

Yesterday, in my reading I was in Deut 5 and thought this verse, with the Life Application note, was my conclusion.
“Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel and said, ‘Listen carefully now to all these laws God has given you; learn them and be sure to obey them!’”

“Listening is absorbing and accepting information about God. Learning is understanding its meaning and implications. Obeying is putting into action all we have learned and understood. All three parts are essential to a growing relationship with God.”

And we have been graced with the Holy Spirit Who enables us to do just that!!

Home

You know.........there is something special about my home. Even though we were only at the Heart Hospital 2 1/2 days, it felt good to come to our home today. I guess it is that way for a lot reasons, but for us......Monty and me........it is where we do most of life together. So being in a hospital room and being together is just not quite the same. I am thankful that our home is a haven for both of us. We enjoy being here together. We enjoy having people here. And we enjoy being home alone some of the time.

As I think about this brief visit to the hospital, I am reminded once again, that all of life is brief. We are just in different locations briefly here on earth, but always wanting to get HOME. And as comfortable as this Home is, there is still a longing to really go HOME.

We didn't really find out much at the hospital, as far as what caused this last episode for Monty. They did change up his meds quite a bit, and are wanting him to go back in two days for more blood work to stay on top of the changes. But, it is kind of like life............there just aren't always answers to "Why?" questions. Often the answer is "wait and see". Isa 40:31 tells us that those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength. We usually think of waiting as a draining of strength. But the word "wait" carries the idea of: "look, long, love, live for".

So we are being strengthened as we WAIT upon the LORD and His timing and His ways to bring us HOME.

The Power of Grace

Well, here I am in the Oklahoma Heart Hospital once again........a year later..... with Monty asleep in the bed and I am up writing in my journal all that has been happening the past 48 hours. In one of my recent posts, I mentioned "remembering" and the importance God gives to that in Scripture. It is the re-membering, re-attaching a member of your past to the present.

I am remembering His faithfulness and lovingkindnesses to us a year ago when we were here for 16 days. I am remembering the sudden crash course I was getting in medical terms describing the heart and conditions and diseases of the heart and its importance to the body. I am remembering all of the love and prayers and notes and calls of many friends for weeks and weeks. I remember how uplifted and encouraged I felt in those days of his health crisis, when we did not know if he would make it through yet another heart event.

And now, after a wonderful year of his renewed strength and back-to-normal life, so to speak, we find that his heart is still quite vulnerable. The short version is that for the past few weeks he had been experiencing some shortness of breath, for which we had "natural" explanations: high altitude of Denver, severe allergy attack, etc!!! Then late Sunday night, exactly one year after his 2nd heart attack, we were in bed and he said he felt like his heart was beating really fast. I took his blood pressure and heart rate three times and we headed out for the Heart Hospital. They finally decided to admit him and we were in a room by 3:00 A.M.

He is in A-fibrillation and has high blood pressure again. They have run some tests and have been trying new meds and tweaking the ones he was on to see if they can get his rhythm back to normal and get the blood pressure under control. As of right now, 11:00 P.M. on Mar 3, 2009, we are expecting that after they run some kidney tests in the morning, they might let us go home...........at least that was what the doctor told us this morning. However, he is now running a fever and his pulse and blood pressure have gone up a bit tonight.

So, my point is this, I was sitting here working on my Bible study and the verses I had to observe were these: "But this precious treasure--this light and power that now shine within us--is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. THese bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within [who keeps us safe].......this gives us constant opportunity to show forth the power of Jesus Christ within our dying bodies." 2 Cor 4:7-11

Our troubles are a platform for God to display the power of His grace in humanity, in the Body of Christ.

Something to think about

I just read this quote and wanted to encourage others to think about it, too.

This is a quote worth reading and holding onto...let it sink in!

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by
legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person
receives without working for, another person must work for
without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody
anything that the government does not first take from
somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that
they do not have to work because the other half is going to
take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea
that it does no good to work because somebody else is going
to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the
end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing
it."
~~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005, Former
Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis , TN ~~~

Remember

I just counted in my Strong's Concordance 266 references to some form of the word remember...remembered....remembering....rememberest....remembereth...remembering...
remembrance.
Many of those were used as petitions from people to God asking Him NOT to remember certain things about them.......failures, sins, former things, etc. But, by far, the majority of verses are on the positive side of recalling to one's mind things that God has done. And it was often to be done with some sort of ceremony, marker, reminder, habit, celebration..........so that the person would not forget and have to learn things all over once again.

Such has been the case for me today as I have been remembering what happened one year ago tonight. I can go back and reread what I wrote down so that I would not forget the faithfulness of the LORD through all of the heart events that Monty had, beginning Feb 24th, 2008. I have not had to go and read it all, even though I am sure there are many details I have forgotten, because I have often called upon the LORD to bring to my mind the things He taught me over and over during those dark days. They were days blessed by the LORD, showing us His Presence with us in those hospital rooms, waiting rooms, emergency rooms.......going through the trials with us.

So tonight we are going to have a "surprise" praise party for Monty here at the house as we praise the LORD for His sovereign grace that brought us through the dark times and has sharpened our focus on Him and eternal things.........that really matter.

Many times last year, as I have posted before, we asked the LORD why He spared Monty's life, only to have been assured over and over that it was for Gwyneth and her children........ for continuing to spread His Word....... and to be better prepared for our final resting place with Him in heaven, being more and more conformed to the image of His Son, all for His glory.

Celebrate with us to the glory of the LORD Jesus Christ that our times are in His hands and it was through Him that everything was made, whether heavenly or earthly, seen or unseen. Through Him, and for Him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, all things were created through, and for Him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation.




So, as the Scriptures says.......REMEMBER your Creator!!

Kingdom Living

Recently I have been thinking a lot about kingdom living. It could be the fact that everywhere I turn, people are talking about something that has to do with it. My pastor has been teaching a series on the parables in Matthew 13, which talks about kingdom living in various ways...........a wonderful series.

Then I happened to hear Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah about a week ago on the end of the world and the coming kingdom of Christ Jesus, which was on Feb 9&10. It seems like every time I open my email someone is sending me some link to something about the many crises going on around the world today that illustrate the facts that Scripture reveals will take place before He comes to set up His earthly kingdom.

I do wonder how so many Bible teachers say that God is through with Israel and that the Church has replaced Israel................when the whole world is focused on that tiny piece of real estate, about the size of New Jersey!!!! And why is it that Jewish people from all over the world are eager to go back to the land that was given to Abraham as an eternal covenant??? How come other nations (i.e. Iran) want to "push Israel into the Sea"? Is it not obvious that God is still about the business of keeping His promise and setting up the Kingdom He promised in Ezekiel, Isaiah, and many other Scriptures..........OT and NT.

So, believing ALL scripture to be profitable, I want to concern myself in "these last days" about Kingdom living.............making all things about His glory.
1 Cor 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God." As I think about this verse, I come to one conclusion.......the point of life is to point to Him.

Lying

You know those thoughts that swirl around in your mind while taking a shower, or some other "mindless" activity??? Well, I have had a post swimming in my brain for the past week that is about lying. It started like this:
"Monty, why would you put the bedroom phone in your sock drawer?"

Let me back up as to why that was my opening post statement that day in the shower. We had some of our grandchildren spending the night with us. They had been playing in our closet (I know because I heard drawers opening and closing)!! A couple of hours later when getting ready for bed, I looked for the phone that sits on the night stand. I never could find it!! The next morning I asked the children about it...... no one knew where it was. When Monty was getting dressed, he found it in his sock drawer!! Thus, "Monty, why would you put the bedroom phone in your sock drawer?" He didn't! "Not me" did!

Sooooo, that started my brain-journey down the road of lying!! Why is it that lying comes so easily? What is the underlying sin of lying??? Or is there one? Does it stand alone? I know that one of the seven things God's hates is a lying tongue. (Pr 6:16-19) But the first one is a proud look.

Could that be it?? Do the rest fall in after pride for a reason?? Is it because of pride that we lie, so people won't know what we are really like?

As some of you who have been reading my blog for the past several months know, our family has been going through the worst "trial and sorrow" of our time thus far. It has been because of the choice of one "living a lie". The damage that can come from lying lips has new depth of meaning for me.

The previous verses in Proverbs 6 are indeed sobering:
12-15 "A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers, perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy."

So, back to my "phone in the sock drawer" and how it ties in with all of this...... 20-23 "My son, (daughter), keep your father's (mother's, poppi's, mimi's) command, and do not forsake the law of your mother (father's, poppi's mimi's). Bind them continually upon your HEART; tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you; when you sleep, they will keep you; and when you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life."

Because God hates lying, so do I. And because it is such a matter of the heart, I am committed to my children and grandchildren to remind them that "the commandment......the law....instruction" all identify the Word of God, which provides the wisdom leading to abundant and eternal life.

So, I press on "preaching the Word in season and out of season" with all who come across our threshold, especially our GRANDchildren so that they may learn to walk in the Light as children of Light and not in the darkness of a lying tongue.

True Womanhood

This past week-end, I went on my annual prayer retreat that I love to do at the beginning of every new year. It is such a great opportunity to hear from God and evaluate the past year as to how I have seen Him work in my life. I am thankful for the dear friends who put it together and serve the 60-70 of us who gathered together for 24 hours away from our "normal, busy lives".

One thing they did differently this year was to let us view some great DVDs from a woman's conference held last October. Rather than tell you what we heard, I want to encourage you to go and listen and learn for yourself. I am looking forward to hearing the rest of them online. Click on the link. I know you will be blessed.

Overcome

Overcome..............is that like Come over? In John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples there in the Upper Room, where He has been giving them their final instructions on how to do this life.......His way....."I have told you all this so that you WILL have peace of mind and heart. Here on earth you WILL have many trials and sorrows, but, cheer up, for I have overcome the world."

ReallY?? MANY trials and sorrows?? No kidding!!! Right now, Jan 7, 2009, I would say that is putting it mildly.

Now, I would not have always said that. I grew up in the 50's in middle America where we never locked our doors.....cars or houses.....when we left them. Seriously!! We, my siblings and I, would take off down the street and go blocks away for hours on end to play.....in the puddles of water in a parking lot after a summer rain.........to go to the park and look under the bleachers for bottle caps and empty bottles to return for money at the local grocery store. I remember walking to the grocery story and signing my name on a little receipt for the few grocery items I picked up for Mother, or for the carton of chocolate milk I drank, or the two pieces of peanut butter logs I bought for 2 cents. Then either she or Daddy would go in once a month or so and pay the debt of all that had been "charged to our account"!! It was a "handshake agreement" between two honest men who believed each other!!

Doesn't that sound like another life time? And I am not THAT old!! I am 62. I have said many times recently to some of our peers that we grew up in the best era, to which they all agreed.

I never heard the word "divorce" / "school shootings" / "cancer" / "bi-polar" and on and on. Not because I was sheltered, but because that was how life was. There were not a lot of "trials and sorrows" around me. OR, it might have been that 10-year-olds just didn't hear of such things back then because they were still allowed to be children living in innocence of a child.

Now fast-forward 50 years!! What a contrast! Between Dec 30 and Jan 5th, I received three phone calls from three young women who love the LORD who are either separated or soon going to be, all looking to a possible divorce in 2009!! That, my friend, would be trials and sorrows.

I have heard of and experienced more "trials and sorrows" than I can recount in the last 12 months. Right now, I can not think of one person in my expanded circle of family and friends who is not going through some sort of "trial or sorrow".

Our daughter is headed for Denver to sign the papers on Friday that will be presented to the judge who will then declare her divorced from her husband of 11 1/2 years. In my mind, I see it this way. Last August it was like she had received the news that she had terminal cancer that would cause death soon. And this Friday that death is coming. It is the death of her life as we have known it for 11 1/2 years. I call this "trials and sorrows".

My three dear friends, married varying lengths of time, have received that same kind of "news" and are in the death process. The oppression is rampant. The stories of tragedies are daily, it seems.

BUT Jesus said that He told them (and us) the things that He did so that we could have PEACE of heart and mind. He backed that up with using that word "overcome". He has "overcome", so Cheer Up!! IS that enough? Is it enough just to tell yourself, "Jesus said Cheer UP!!!" So I am just going to think positively and this will all get better.

WHy? Why is it so hard right now for so many? I wonder? Is it like when Satan went to God as we are told in Job 1 and God put before him His righteous servant Job. God gave Satan permission to do anything he wanted to to Job, except kill him. I wonder??? Is that what God is doing with His Bride, the Church? Is He telling Satan he can have at us, but he can't kill us, to test us, to try us with "trials and sorrows" to see whether our faith is pure or not? Job never read the book of Job. He never got the answers.........the reasons for his "trials and sorrows"! But we get to read it and the lesson for us is that God can do that!! He can let Satan test His rightoues ones.........because He is GOD!!

And we can have peace of mind and heart because He has overcome the world!! Let's be overcomers in Jesus' name!! Cheer up!!