Great Expectation

In 1995, my husband and I found out we were expecting our first children.  We were overjoyed!  Just a few weeks later we discovered we would welcome twins!  We were still joyful, but now we were a little scared as well.  I wasn’t sure that i could handle raising two at one time, but my husband quickly reminded me God was on our side.

At 24 weeks of pregnancy I went into premature labour. After a week in the hospital, I went home to be on complete bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy.  I suddenly faced weeks of nothing to do but think.  Now you would probably think that I spent that time worrying, but oddly enough, I never worried about my babies. God gave me the peace that passes all understanding throughout that pregnancy and I felt closer to Him than I ever had in my life.  Instead, I spent my time thinking about those babies.  As I felt them move and saw the tiny imprint of their feet on my belly I wondered where life would take them.  I dreamed of their lives, the women they would one day marry, and the children they would one day have.  

I wonder if Mary did the same thing. I wonder if she stared at her pregnant belly in wonder at the child within.  Did she have any idea just what that child would accomplish? Did she truly believe what Gabriel had told her? Did she know??

God gave us the greatest gift we could ever have through a tiny baby.  No gift ever given could come close to comparing to the magnitude of God’s gift of Jesus on that ancient day.  Jesus would literally change the world with his birth, life, and death on a cross.  

Luke 2 has this to say of the birth:

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Read that last line again.  They came with HASTE.  They hurried to see this miracle boy, this one whom angels watched over and heralded his birth.  

We should do the same.  This Christmas, don’t lose the wonder and excitement of the baby.  Remember Mary and all that she must have been feeling,  and hurry to the Savior.

Merry Christmas!

Ghosts and Goblins

When I was a little girl, we lived way out in the country. My mom ran a restaurant, so we inevitably were driving home in the evenings. Country roads are dark at night, folks! And to make matters worse, we had to drive past an old, old cemetery.  That sucker was so old, it was grown up with weeds, the headstones were tilted, and there were trees with moss draping down over the headstones to add to the effect.  As we rode by each night, I would squeeze my eyes shut as tight as I could, slump down in my seat, and try to think of anything I could to keep my mind off of that spooky old cemetery and the ghosts and goblins that must have inherited it.

As I repeated the ritual night after night, I must have exasperated my dad, because he finally asked me what I was doing. When I shamefully explained my actions, my dad said something that has always stuck with me. He said, “It’s not the people in the cemeteries you have to worry about; it’s the ones who are living.”  He was clearly talking about the state of the world we live in. Our fallen nature has made this place something much less than the garden God intended.  But I see those wise words much differently now.

We should be living each day with a sense of urgency.  We are too late to help those who have gone on before us. We need to spend each day “worrying” about those who are walking among us who don’t know Christ.  My friend Beth reminded me today that we need to live each day as if it is our last with regard to telling people about Jesus.  

Romans 10:14 says: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

We have an amazing story to share! There are opportunities all around us to tell people about what a wonderful Savior we serve. Don’t miss them because your head is covered up and you are slumped down in the seat in fear!  

Tungurahua

Tungurahua

I was privileged to serve on mission in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life, Ecuador as I attended M-Fuge International with a small group of youth from my church as a chaperone along with our youth pastor.  That mission trip was life-changing for many reasons. We stayed at Campamento Bautista, high in the Andes mountains. The camp is literally located on top of a mountain, and the mountain right next to it is an active volcano named Tungurahua. That volcano rumbled and belched smoke and fire from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. It was magnificent!  At night you could see the ring of fire as lava bubbled up around the tip of its cone. By day you could see the smoke it emitted as a permanent cloud around the top.  Just when you got used to it, it would rumble and bellow and you would be in awe of it yet again.  The evidence of its activity was all around us. Roads that had been completely enveloped in lava and ash had been rerouted and you could see where the lava flow had poured down the mountain during the last big eruption.  Yet I was never scared of Tungurahua. I respected it, I admired it, I was in awe of it, but I wasn’t scared of it.  That beautiful volcano was burning with fire day and night. It never ceased to remind us that it was there. Tungurahua taught me to stay on fire for the Lord.

During the day, we were the hands and feet of Jesus to villagers in La Paz at the local school.  We shared Jesus during Bible School and then cleaned and painted the school for the kids and teachers.  We showed love the best way we could.  At night, we worshiped together on top of that mountain. It was the first place I ever heard Revelation Song and I will forever think of that mountaintop and those holy hands lifted high as that song echoed off of the mountainside.  It taught me to never take my worship experience for granted.

This was also the trip that I was privileged to see young men and women totally and radically commit their lives to Christ.  These young people began to live for Jesus in ways they couldn’t even have imagined before. Some were called to the ministry full time, and some were called to love God more fully.  It taught me to look at young people with fresh eyes.

It was as if the fire inside of Tungurahua mimicked the fire that was being stoked inside all of us. God did something awesome inside each of us on that trip. I never hear Revelation Song that I don’t think of that mountaintop experience and holy hands lifted high. And I pray for the young people of our nation that they too might experience something magnificent in their lives that turns them completely upside down for Christ.  I will never be the same, and that’s a good thing. Jeremiah 24:7 says, “'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.”  This is what happened for us in Ecuador. God drew us close to Him as only He could, and radically changed the way we thought about Him. He can do that for each of us when we open ourselves up to possibilities. I pray that you will allow Him to do the same for you.

Perfect Timing

Perfect Timing

Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the Sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree. And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down! For I’m going to your house today!”

I remember teaching this song to my sons when they were very young. I loved singing songs with them. Songs are opportunities to teach, and this song has many important lessons hidden within it.

I don’t know if you know the story of Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector, one of the most despised men of all Israel because they cheated the people of their hard earned money. One day, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming. I don’t know if it was curiosity or excitement at seeing this man who had performed miracles, but Zacchaeus made his way to where the crowds were gathered that day. The only problem was that he was too short to see Jesus!  Nearby, however, was a Sycamore tree, and Zacchaeus used that tree to meet his destiny!

Jesus saw him immediately--of course he did, he was the Son of God! He knew just where Zacchaeus would be on that day!  You see, there are no coincidences in God’s kingdom.  Years before Zacchaeus was even born, God put that Sycamore tree in that exact spot because Zacchaeus would need it to meet Jesus on that day.  Long before Zacchaeus climbed the tree, the tree was already planted to meet Zacchaeus’ needs!

Zacchaeus had a divine appointment with Jesus, as we all do.  Luke 19  tells us that after seeing Jesus,  Zacchaeus was so convicted of his sin that he vowed to give back more than he had wrongly taken. Jesus responded to his pure heart by saying, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

And so he does with all of us! God has a divine moment for each of us.  At some point in our lives, he knocks at the door of our hearts and offers to be our friend, our father, our provider, our comforter, our peacemaker, our King, our Savior.  What a pity it would be to miss out on such an opportunity! Zacchaeus realized it; do you?

A Father's Love

A Father’s Love

My dad and I have had a tumultuous relationship, but when I was a little girl I thought he hung the moon!  He was my very favorite person to hang out with. I can remember sitting in the bathroom while he shaved in the morning amazed as he lathered his face with an old timey brush and mug and then carefully scraped the hair from his face. He would then shake a dollop of old spice in his hands to smooth over his clean shaven face. He always finished with a quick brush on my cheeks of his left over after shave! I loved that smell. To this day when I catch a whiff of it, it brings back such happy memories!

Another of my favorite activities was riding in the car with daddy. He would let me jump in beside him—way before the days of child safety seats and seat belts—and he would carefully hold me with his arm as we drove around the countryside.  We always ended up at my uncle’s store for a chocolate soldier drink for me!  There was nothing better than being held by daddy’s arms. It was the safest place in the world.

That’s the same way I feel when I’m being held by Jesus.  When I’m reading my Bible, having a talk with Him, or just being still in His presence, I have such a sense of safety and love and utter peace about me. There is NO love like the love of the Father.

1 John says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1 NIV)  There is no greater love. We can think that we understand it, but there is no possible way to understand the height, depth, or breadth or God’s love for us. Some of my favorite times are the times I spend at His feet in awe of His presence.  Do you allow yourself time for that? I promise you if you are feeling distant from God it’s because you moved, not Him.  Move closer to God today. Spend time talking to Him like the friend He is. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Sunflowers

Sunflowers

    “Take me to America with you,” she said as tears filled her eyes and we hugged each other tightly. 

If only I could, I thought. This beautiful, widow woman from a tiny village in Romania had touched my heart in so many ways in the short time we were there on a mission trip. Even though she had very little to call her own, she gave to us out of an abundance of her love for Christ.  We had spent ten days in Traian Vuia, Romania visiting families, praying with the sick and old, and hosting backyard Bible clubs for the village children and their parents.  Sweet Maria was there every time the church doors were open. She always had a wide smile and ready laugh as she spoke to me through the interpreter. As we visited her home one day, we found her in her courtyard harvesting sunflower seeds with a long wooden dowel. She used the dowel to beat the back of the sunflower heads in order to shake loose the seeds onto a large blue tarp.  She eagerly showed me how to harvest the seeds and laughed with me as I successfully shook loose the first of the flower’s bounty. 

On our final day in the village, she asked the question. I pondered for a moment how to answer this question because the answer was important. I gently explained that I couldn’t take her with me, but that I would always carry her in my heart. Then she asked me when she would see me again. That answer came easily to me, but wasn’t an easy answer to give. I pointed upward and replied, “maybe not until Heaven, but we would have eternity to spend together then!” 

This beautiful little old lady taught me much about life.  She taught me how to work hard and find joy in the work.  She taught me how to feel rich when you have little. She taught me that you don’t have to speak the same language to communicate.  She taught me that saying goodbye isn’t forever when we belong to the family of God.  

I often wonder what happened to my friend, Maria.  I wonder if she thinks of the American lady as much as I think of the Romanian one. Her photo holds a place of honor in my office, and I enjoy telling others about wise Maria  who I will see again one day in Heaven.

Romans 10:14-15 says:

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Goodbye doesn’t mean forever when we share faith in Christ. We can’t tarry in telling others who don’t believe.  Maria knew that while she toiled and suffered on this earth one day she would be in the presence of Jesus for eternity. Do you have that same assurance? Does your family? Your friends? We cannot wait to share the gospel in the hopes that someone else will share the good news. Eternity could begin tomorrow.

Tuning In

Tuning In

When my oldest sons turned three we began training them to sit still in big church.  We would file into our pew, pull out paper and pencil, and whisper reminders to be quiet and listen when church started.  We practiced holding the hymnals (even though they couldn’t yet read the songs) and looking up scripture together.

After a while we began to expect those little darlings to begin absorbing some of what they heard, so we would quiz them after church was over. We would discuss the pastor’s sermon and sometimes they would have really good answers to our questions, proving that they were indeed listening.

Of my twin sons, Garrett has the most trouble being still and one Sunday in particular he really got my goat! The preacher had a great sermon that even a child could understand and there was Garrett--doodling away while Kyle listened intently. As soon as we got to the car, I blasted Garrett! “Do you have any idea at all what the preacher was talking about today?” I asked him. Garrett quickly pulled out his detailed drawing of Jesus and the two thieves on their crosses at Calvary. He pointed to each of the thieves in turn and said, “See, Mama. This one was only out to save his neck, but this one was out to save his soul!”

I should have been ashamed, but instead I was humbled and filled with joy at the way God had spoken to this small child.  It makes me wonder--how intent are we to hear what God has for each of us? Do we listen with a childlike faith and trust that God will speak?

Proverbs 8:32-34 reads: “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me.”   

Even at a young age, Garrett was learning to listen to God. There’s a lesson in there for us. Sometimes we get so busy that we don’t stop to really listen. I challenge you to tune in to the Father as much as you tune in to the many distractions of life.  I promise He has incredible things to share with you!

God is so Funny!

God is so funny!

God has an amazing sense of humor! What’s that? You don’t think it’s biblical? Well just look around you. Have you ever really looked at a duck-billed platypus? Or a blue footed booby? Ever smelled a corpse flower in full bloom? Creation has many examples of His humor. I can also testify as to how God has shown His sense of humor in my own life.

           

My dad was in the military and growing up my family didn’t do sports. They were never on the television, we didn’t do little league, and there was little throwing of a football around the front yard.  My three brothers showed no interest in organized sports. Wait, I take that back. Their favorite sport was terrorizing their little sister! My parents raised me to value education and to believe that I could be anything I wanted to be if I was willing to work for it. Early on I decided that I was going to be a surgeon. I wanted to devote my life to medicine and maybe I would marry one day, but would never bring children into this crazy world.  It was all about money and helping people for me.

Then God happened.

He showed up and showed me through a friend that I was NOT to become a doctor. Instead, I became a teacher. I still help people, but that whole money thing sure has changed. I also met the man of my dreams. He showed up in my life one summer and my life has never been the same. God game me a Godly man to be my lifemate. And guess what he does for a living? He’s a teacher and a COACH! That little girl who grew up hating sports married a coach!  But wait, there’s more. We have three beautiful boys--twins and a single. See that? God has a HUGE sense of humor. He looked at Liz’s plans and had a good chuckle!

You see the problem wasn’t with my plans. The problem was that I had completely left God out of them. I never asked Him what He wanted for me. Praise God for showing up and not leaving it up to me!

Have you ever done that? Instead of being angry that life didn't’ turn out the way you wanted it to, find the joy in just being who God wants you to be. Romans 15:13 speaks of this: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” When we take our eyes off of our pity party and fix our eyes on Him, we begin to see how He is at work in our lives and peace and joy abound. I challenge to fix your eyes on Jesus today. Try to see things from His perspective. Find the joy in your circumstances and let God’s peace overflow in you.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Come, Lord Jesus

Lately I’ve taken a good look at the world around me and I haven’t liked what I’ve seen. Maybe you’ve noticed it too.  People just seem unhappy and don’t hesitate to take it out on everyone around them. You can almost feel the groaning of the world.  Our country is in disarray, Christians around the world are facing immense persecution, and it won’t be long before the same thing begins happening here in the US.  God’s anger is fierce. We see evidence of what happens when we disobey him over and over in the Bible. In Numbers 32:13-15 we learn the consequence that Israel faced when they angered God. It tells us that his anger was so strong that he made them wander the wilderness for forty years. Verse 14 says: “You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel.”  I don’t think things have changed much. We are still a brood of sinful men!

This old world we live in is full of iniquity. We have even legalized sin and made it an abomination to stand up for what is right.  Now more than ever do I yearn to be in the arms of my Savior!  Some days I crave it. I find myself weeping for the place and people I am with and cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!” 

Then I stop and think of the loved ones on my salvation list, and suddenly I want God to wait just a little longer to come.  You see, my love for them has outweighed my personal yearning for peace. My Abba Father is still holding me, and I cling to that.

So I say: Come, Lord Jesus...but not yet.

Yes, Lord

Yes, Lord

My youngest son is an amazing young man. He has always been quiet and shy out in public. All of that changed when he entered middle school in sixth grade.

Several weeks into the school year, David came to me and asked why we didn’t have a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Chapter at our school. I explained to him that it had to be entirely student led and when his brothers had moved on to high school we had lost our student leadership. He thought about this for a little while, and a few days later he came back to me. This time he said, “Mama, I want to start FCA back up again. I will be the leader.”

This quiet , unassuming child floored me and left me speechless.  We worked with David for a while on how to create a lesson and found a sponsor for the group because an adult still had to be present.

This child led FCA all three of his middle school years, as a sixth, seventh,and eighth grader.  He has since gone on to preach twice at our church and become very active in the FCA chapter at his high school. He allows God to speak through him which is obvious from the confidence he exhibits in front of a group. In his own strength, David could never do what he has done. God equips the unexpected to do great things for the kingdom. And this is very purposeful. Because God uses those of us we would never expect, God receives ALL of the glory, honor, and praise.

Just like the little shepherd boy he is named after, my David stepped up when he felt God calling. If a child can do that, why can’t we? We offer up a million excuses of why we can’t serve. I’m too tired...I’ll do it next time...They don’t need me…

Folks, God doesn’t need us to accomplish anything. He allows us to work for Him as a blessing to us. Won’t you be a blessing today? Listen for God’s voice and respond, “Yes, Lord! Send me!”

Social Experiment

About a year ago I began conducting a social experiment. I walk around stores, the mall, or really anywhere the public is out and about and smile at everyone I see—even those pushy people at the kiosks.  If you’ve seen me, you’ve probably asked yourself who the crazy, smiley woman is as you quickly shooed your kids away from the disturbed lady.  Unfortunately, I think that’s what a lot of people think when we smile for seemingly no reason.  I have a purpose in my smile, however. I smile in order to see if you will smile back.  What I’ve found is that people from Gen X, Gen Y, and Baby Boomers all tend to give a quick smile back, if not the full blown smile they receive from me. Millennials and younger, however, usually ignore me, avoid eye contact all together, and walk quickly away.  Why is this? I believe it’s because this generation of young people has been raised in relative isolation in front of screens—computer screens, phone screens, and TV screens—and they aren’t quite sure to do with this smile they are suddenly confronted with from a real, live human being.

What they don’t know is that joy is contagious! Just saying the word fills you with an indescribable feeling. It bubbles up from some wellspring deep inside you and fills you with, well, Joy!   Habbakuk 3 begins with a retelling by the prophet of the terrible anger of God against his people.  God’s anger was aroused, and rightly so, because once again the Israelites had drifted away.  This is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible, not because God gets angry, but because of what comes afterward.  Verses 17-19 read: “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”  Did you catch that? I will JOY in the God of my salvation! You see, it doesn’t matter how bad things get, because the one thing that matters is eternal and can’t be snatched away from me—my salvation. In the grand scheme of eternity, it doesn’t matter that I may not be able to pay all of the bills this month; it doesn’t matter that my job may not be the one I wanted; it doesn’t matter that I may still be single when all of my friends are married with children.  

The ONLY thing that really and truly matters is the JOY I have in Jesus Christ.  So that’s why I smile. I can’t help it!

In the Beginning...

I recently read a book that really made begin questioning long held beliefs. The book is by Andy Andrews and is titled  How Do You Kill 11 Million People: Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think.  



In this book, Andrews delves into the powers of Hitler to mislead millions of people which led to the deaths of over 11 million people including 6 million Jews.  He then discusses the powers of modern day leaders to sway us to the same sort of madness.

The power of this book lies in making the reader think about his/her values. It forces us to question every leader's motives--which isn't a bad thing! Because this book is so short, it is a wonderful book to read and pass along to friends who will then want to discuss it.  There is even a book club guide isn't new back of the book.

I highly recommend this book to everyone from high schoolers to adults. In fact, it would make for great discussion around the dinner table!

* These opinions are my own.