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A Timely Word Aptly Spoken

/ Jana / 2 Comments

On a very soggy, groggy morning, my friend sent me this great devotion. It was exactly what I needed. But of course, God already knew that didn’t He? That is why He stirred her to act and why I am so blessed that she listened.

It reminded me of a story my friend Mary K. told last night.  She was really sick and God prompted a friend to call her. And the friend did.  Mary K. could hardly speak for holding back the tears as she told the class how much that one gesture of kindness, that one act of her friend responding to the Holy Spirit’s tug, reassured Mary K. that God knew how much she was suffering and He cared.

Remember God is always working for our good. Even if it hurts. Be encouraged today. And better yet, if the Holy Spirit prompts you to love on someone today, please do. It may make all the difference.

March 16th
“It is good that you recognize your weakness.  That keeps you looking to Me, your Strength.  Abundant life is not necessarily health and wealth; it is living in continual dependence on Me.  Instead of trying to fit this day into a preconceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what I am doing.  This mindset will free you to enjoy Me and to find what I have planned for you to do.  This is far better than trying to make things go according to your own plan. 

Don’t take yourself so seriously.  Lighten up and laugh with Me.  You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about?  I can equip you to do absolutely anything, as long it is My will.  The more difficult your day, the more I yearn to help you.  Anxiety wraps you up in yourself, trapping you in your own thoughts.  When you look to Me and whisper My Name, you break free and receive My help. 

Focus on Me, and you will find Peace in My Presence.”

Philippians 4:13; Proverbs 17:22

“Jesus Calling” Devotions for every day of the year by Sarah Young.

Ready, Set, Zim!

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We had our first meeting for Zimbabwe last night and I am FIRED UP.

After hearing stories from others who had already gone and are going again, and after watching a video of the needs, I was undone. Because of AIDS, there are two groups of people: old people and and children – from infants to teens. So few parents, no leadership, no hugs, no training. Here is a country starving to death in more ways than one: spiritually, economically, socially, physically.

An old folks home where the patients don’t even have matching shoes.
Homes where grandfathers and uncles want 12, 13, 14 year old girls to prostitute so they can eat.

What do you do with that?

Salem is 12. I hear those stories and I look at her. I try to think of how bad life would have to get for me to be willing lay her in the arms of a stranger for money.  How could I get to the place of desperation that I would do that to my own flesh and blood?

Here is a place where babies are abandoned on the road. Some kind soul brings them to the hospital but once they get there, what next? There is no family to hold or soothe. The orphanages are full. There is no room in the inn.

What do you do with that?

Then there are pockets of whites who have been so hurt and betrayed by the government seizure of their land and livelihood, and they are so bound up by religious legalism that they are shut down, paranoid, lost.

What do you do with that?

You pour forth the name of Jesus like ointment.

What they need, what we need, is the supernatural.  It hit me last night as I was listening. Perhaps, we have been deceived. What do we bank on? When there is no government program to turn to, no store to buy from, no money to withdraw from the bank, we need something beyond our own control, something “altogether other.” These people far away, are like us.  We need the REALITY of God to interrupt the reality of our lives.  It is easy to watch videos of Haiti, and Zim, and other places of devastation and think, “What can I do?”  and I would say more than you can possibly imagine. Pour forth the name of Jesus. Pray that they would prosper spiritually, economically, socially, physically. Pray that the teams have all they need to go so they can speak hope, life and truth to a desperate people in desperate times.

What will you do with that?

Here is video clip if you would like see first hand what God is up to.  My Cry for Zimbabwe

Remember, if you want to be part of this work you can do so here.

Hitting a Nerve

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It is so much fun to let go of a ball in a pinball machine.  It starts setting off lights and bells everywhere. Such was yesterday’s blog.

Sistahs just like me (members of the round belly club) gave me a resounding Amen.  DING DING DING
Others gently instructed me on how or why to process with understanding. FLASH FLASH

I so love journeying with us in all different places. Nice to know that I am not alone in my frustration; nice to know that others have moved beyond, or never experienced it. But I find I am laughing at us all. In love of course. Not sure there is a right answer on this one.

He is the answer. For me, for you, in the middle of the moment. And you know what? The moments are often ugly and that is okay.  You may not ever get asked that because that might not ever set you off. But I did, and it did.

You see, my Holy Dad set me up.  He knew that reaction was in there, and I did not. Think of it as my own personal “show and tell.”  He showed me what He was seeing so He could tell me how much He loves me and wants to be my everything.  John Dee tells me often, “He wanted me to see what He always knew was there.” Truth in the innermost parts.

And then Jesus came right after the wounding and started reminding me of all of His sweet murmurings in my ear and heart.

As if that was not enough, the Spirit guided me into real revelation…. about “that girl.” Do you have this? The memory, the hurt from middle school, high school, college, the same “that girl” who has showed up all through life. You know the one – she always made you feel like crap. If you let her.

I just took a comprehensive exam yesterday. And you know historically, I don’t test too good.  But I am a quick, quick learner. I love the way He simply won’t let me live in lies. That my friends, round or flat, is freedom.

How about you?  When you blow up, where do you go?

We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program… To Vent!

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You know you need grace when you get into those situations where you become frighteningly silent for fear of vomiting venom all over yourself, the offending person and the people standing within 10 feet of you.

That happened to me this morning.  I didn’t even look at her for fear that fire-breathing dragons would burst from my eyes and burn her up on the spot.

But after I walked away from the moment, the Lord showed me these scenarios are also good indicators of other things besides grace:

A) God is teaching me self-control.
B) God is setting me up to flush places in my heart that need healing.
C) He is using ME to heal, repair, and convict someone else.

Another possible solution is that He is doing D) all of the above. Not funny, fun or entertaining. At all.

For the sake of social instruction… if you don’t KNOW a person well enough to already KNOW the facts, don’t ask if she is pregnant. Unless she has on a “baby on board” T-shirt, or like message, don’t go there. Not ever. Ever. Just because someone has a pudge, don’t ask, “How far along are you?” Believe it or not, there are about 100 body shapes between anorexic and pregnant. Why do we go from model thin to “with child”? Look around; there are lots and lots of body styles in between these two points on the spectrum.  The last time I had a flat belly, I was 8.  It is socially ridiculous to assume someone is with child because they have a roll.  Can I be more clear? If you haven’t heard through the grapevine, if you don’t see a baby falling out of her uterus,  if you don’t see some book for new mommies nearby, don’t ask.

For the sake of spiritual conviction…why did that bother me so badly that I couldn’t even respond? And what is the appropriate response?

It bothered me so badly because it was like a contest had occurred and I lost. She was thin and attractive and her question was like a judgment that I was not.  I let her definition shake up my heart.  And appropriate? Proverbs says “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.”  How about a response like, “What an odd question. Why would you feel the freedom to ask that?”

Instead of being honest, I withdrew. Instead of standing in my beauty as God sees it, I hung my head in shame. That really hurt, but instead of being straightforward, I froze in the name of some Christian, Southern, love your neighbor BS.

Why do we shy away from letting people know how we feel? Are only good feelings, happy, holy feelings allowed?  I don’t think so.

Today has been a good, good day by being such a bad one. But here are my God take-aways:

Truth:  I belong to my Lover and His desire is for me (round belly and all).  Don’t give in to social stupidity when it comes to weight, beauty and fashion.
Truth: If you don’t know, don’t ask. Ever.
Truth: Speak the truth, even when it hurts. Maybe it will stop the insensitive person from continuing to ask foolish questions of others.
Truth: Grace is not the same thing as silence.

Blessings on all you round-bellied women!  And you flat-bellied ones, too!

For I Know…

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How much of what God knows matters one whit to you?

If you read with your eyes and assimilate with your mind that “God knows the plans He has for you,” does that actually impact what you do with the rest of your life, your day, the next hour?

I find in my life that I have this uncanny ability to bank more on what I know, than what HE knows.

This is very, very scary.

Last night in the WGR class, we closed with a song by Sidewalk Prophets. It was so rich that I got up and had another dose of its truth this morning.

The Words I Would Say

Be strong in the Lord and
Never give up hope
You’re going to do great things
I already know
God’s got His hand on you so
Don’t live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don’t forget why you’re here
Take your time and pray
Thank God for each day
His love will find a way
These are the words I would say

I need to be reminded that GOD has big plans for me and you.  I need to be reminded that “His arm is not too short to save” and “nothing thwarts the plans of God.” But more than simply being reminded, God invites me to live Differently because of this truth. I can rest in the reality that God is for me, with me, calling me out and drawing me in.

The only way to combat fear is to walk with Truth. The only way to change your mind and your life is through worship and repentance. Worship: soaking in the beauty and goodness of God. Repentance: confessing areas that you trust someone, something more than God and turning back towards Him.

I pray that today your hope will be in His plans for you. Yes you.  I pray His plans will fuel everything you think and do with a renewed sense of purpose that your life lived with Him, today, matters for all eternity.

Oh yes, I also pray that because you trust Him, and His plans, you learn to trust that He is going to use what you are going through Today to advance His plans. “For I know the plans I have for you…”

Holy Parentheses

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The book I am devouring now is “In a Pit with a Lion on Snow Day” by Mark Batterson. And he made a comment that the Lord has me running crazy with.

Batterson talked about how the Holy Spirit “hovers” over us. From Genesis until now, He is working, hovering, creating, leading. Read his book to hear his conversation. But I want to talk about how this notion and Psalm 139 connect.  He knows us. He sees us. He hems us in, before and behind…Batterson used the word parentheses. I heard the Lord say, “Like a holy parentheses.”

And I had this visual of God’s hands forming a “holy parentheses” around my life. And your life. But it didn’t stop there.

Look at the first letters of this word. What does it spell? Parent. When I looked up the definition for the word here what it says:

Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek, literally, act of inserting, from parentithenai to insert, from para- + en- en- + tithenai to place

Uhm Wow.  We are inserted in the Parent’s hands. Placed there by His design, held there by His love. What was David’s response to this Ahaa moment?  “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” Amen.

I just want to dwell on that today.  As I “move and have my being,” as I work and rest, succeed and fail, think and dream, I reside in the Holy Parentheses. My Heavenly Parent placed me there, and “nothing can pluck me out of His hand.” Hallelujah.

1 O LORD, you have searched me
      and you know me.

 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
      you perceive my thoughts from afar.

 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
      you are familiar with all my ways.

 4 Before a word is on my tongue
      you know it completely, O LORD.

 5 You hem me in—behind and before;
      you have laid your hand upon me.

 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
      too lofty for me to attain.

 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
      Where can I flee from your presence?   Psalm 139

Who Is Driving?

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You already know that the Lord is hilarious. And He speaks everywhere all the time.  Well my God story this week is from a bathroom in Hot Springs, North Carolina.

We were making a pit stop on the way to our WGR Leadership Retreat and I saw an open Bible on the bookshelf next to the potty.  So since I was just sitting there for a moment (ahem)  I looked over to see where it was opened.  Oh, surprise, surprise: Psalm 23, where most Bibles are marked in funeral homes and the like. But I sensed the Lord telling me to read Psalm 26 because I love that one.  I quickly realized it was in the King James Version, and this familiar verse took on a whole new kick.

“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Psalm 26: 2

When was the last time you prayed that? How much do we give the Lord permission to examine and prove us?  I don’t know about you, but the term “try my reins and my heart” really grabbed my attention.  Reins are what you use to direct, to lead, to guide, to stop or correct. Reins are how you drive a horse, a carriage, a life.

“Try my reins.” See if I willingly hand them over to You. Are they supple in Your hands from firm, loving use?  Are they easy to hold from lots of hours of good following and obedience? Or are they stiff and unused?  Have I been running wild without reins or direction?

What about my heart?  Do I do the same for my heart? Willingly hand it over? Trust You to hold and lead? Is it soft and following, or hard and balking when You apply  tender pressure?  And honestly, what is the difference between my reins and my heart?

It is the difference between my will and my affection.  It is one thing to say you follow God. It is another to love Him. It is one thing to “obey” out of fear, and quite another to “go with Him” out of pure adoration. Both the reins (or will) and the heart are what God is after. Wholeheartedly His.

Examine me, Lord. Test how I am living life with You. Gauge how I am allowing my life to be led. By You or by my own selfish ways. You are the God of my will. You take the reins. And hold my heart, Lord. Keep it warm, safe and soft in Your mighty right hand.  Heal me and make me fully yours. Amen.

Burn Us Up

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I’ve been sitting in I Peter 1: 7 lately:

“These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Burn Us Up, by Shane and Shane really speaks into this idea. Enjoy!

There were three before the king.
There were three who wouldn’t bow to him.
For when you heard the music play and you were standing you would burn.
They looked at him and said…

Burn us up. Burn us up. Burn us up.
Oh, king won’t you burn us in the furnace your desire.
We give up. We give up. We give up.
Oh, king won’t you burn us in the furnace your desire.
Oh won’t you throw us in the fire.

The king enraged at what they said.
Sent the three away to find their death.
The palace stopped in unbelief when the guilty raised their hands to sing.  

They looked to Him and said…

Burn us up. Burn us up. Burn us up.
Oh, king won’t you burn us in the furnace your desire.
We give up. We give up. We give up.
Oh, king won’t you burn us in the furnace your desire.
Oh won’t you save us from the fire.

You are able to deliver from the fire of affliction!
It’s the declaration of my Lord!
You’re not an image of gold!
You’re the God of Old.
You have made us. Come and save us. We are yours!
But even if you don’t we will burn.

So burn us up in the furnace of your desire.

A Story Worth Repeating

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You know what I used to hate more than anything?  Asking for help. Isn’t that crazy?  It was something in my genes (Southern? Stubborn? Self-reliant?) that used to drive me to be the Christian Martha Stewart, Martha Washington, and Martha in the Bible all rolled into one at the same time.  And if I didn’t pull off this independent perfection, then my conclusion was that there must be something wrong with me. What a bunch of hooey.

But here is a really good thing I am learning: God doesn’t help those who help themselves. (Where did that dribble come from?) He helps those who humble themselves under His mighty hand and depend on Him to provide in real, tangible ways.  And in due time, He lifts them up. That is His promise.

It is one thing to ask for help when you can still maintain composure (read: pride).  It is quite another thing altogether to receive help when you are at your worst. I started seeing this principle play out in odd and vulnerable moments of my life.

I was moving. No worse time to see your own mess, dirt and clutter. But it was Melissa who helped me pack up my house when Chuck and infant Salem had a throw up bug and my freezer had come unplugged and reeked of rotting food.

When I  had surgery and couldn’t bend over, Ellen insisted that she help me in a “real way.” So she scrubbed my nasty bathtub.

Nan arranged a baby celebration not only for Salem, but also a memorial service for Judah, our baby who died.

Then there is Betsy, Lyschel, Nancy, Ruthie, my folks, Lou Ann, Christie, Christina, Lora and the list goes on and on.

Friends who were willing to go the extra mile at their expense, just to help me, at my worst and ugliest moments. When I had nothing to offer them in return but a feeble and heart-felt “thank you.”

It is called community. The family of God in action. And it reminds me of Zimbabwe in an odd way. 

Here is the short version of a great story. A big group of people in the Knoxville area sent a container of food, clothes, and school supplies over to people in a land far away where there are no jobs, where the shelves are empty. These were not  things not to make life “comfortable” but things to help them survive.  And when this group of people in Zimbabwe, our God family, opened up this metal box sent from around the world, the first thing they saw was a hand-made sign: “See, I have not forgotten you, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand.”

I weep every time I see the picture.   He hasn’t forgotten them. He hasn’t forgotten you. Ask for help. Believe it will come. He has got the whole world in His hand.

Also, if you want to help us continue to bless the people of Zimbabwe, click here.