Only the Beginning

     This past week I turned fifty-one.  Just want you to know that when I was a child I thought I would probably only live to be forty because at the time forty sounded really old to me.The day wasn't an especially great one.  Just the day before, Ben, our son, had his gall bladder removed and I was on nursing duty for the week.  Oh well, I am too old for a princess birthday party anyway!  I did, however, have some great cards to open and calls from family and friends.  But still, I was just feeling old and not very special. 
     While Ben was sleeping that afternoon, I decided to sit on the patio and enjoy the sunshine.  As I sat there taking in the budding trees and singing birds, a movement caught my eye.  As I turned to look, I saw it.  It was a butterfly, the first one I had seen since the fall!  I felt a smile spreading over my face, and , of course, ran to get my camera.  I didn't manage to get the best picture, but I snapped a few.  Then I thanked God for the birthday present He had sent me.  God knows what I love, two of them being butterflies and photography, and He sent me opportunities to enjoy both on my birthday. Suddenly, I felt very special that the God of the universe took time out to do that for me!
     I knew that this would just be the beginning of many butterfly sightings to come. Now the butterfly thing may sound a bit silly to you, but I think we each have our own things we look forward to...things that make us smile.  Praise God that He provides those smiley faced moments for us!  It seems this world has so many ways of wiping that smile off our face.  Our finances, health, relationships, and life in general seem to be constantly under attack by our enemy, Satan.  He is about the business of throwing burdens our way.  Sometimes the load seems too heavy to bear.  Life just gets the best of us and we settle into losing hope, letting go of our dreams, and giving up on the abundant life God has clearly offered and promised us in His word, the Bible. But, a promise is a promise when it comes to God.  So what are we missing here?
     The fact is that we are missing nothing HERE! Life here on this earth is NOT the know all and end all for those of us who are in Christ.  There is so very much more that lies ahead of us in eternity. Yet, somehow in the day in and day out life we live, we totally lose sight of that fact.  We get all bogged down in the here and now.  As  Dallas Willard writes in his book The Divine Conspiracy, that it matters for all the world to know that life is ahead of us.

I meet many faithful Christians who, in spite of their faith, are deeply disappointed in how their lives have turned out. Sometimes it is simply a matter of how they experience aging, which they take to mean they no longer have a future. But often, due to circumstances or wrong decisions and actions by others, what they had hoped to accomplish in life they did not.
...Much of the distress of these good people comes from a failure to realize that their life lies before them...the life that lies endlessly before us in the kingdom of God.

     Since I read this quote in John Elldredge's book Desire, which I highly recommend, I have thought, there it is!  That explains why we all at some point get so disillusioned with this life.  We forget to look at the "rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say.  In the back of our minds, we have that knowledge tucked away somewhere in in the creases of our brains. However, we are seemingly too overwhelmed with this life to bring it to the forefront of our thinking.  With this reality in proper prospective, there is the ability to have hope, joy and peace that overrides this present day's problems. God has so much more in store for those of us who are His children!
      That quote, that truth brought such excitement to my soul.  My life, maybe like yours, has not turned out as you had planned and dreamed.  But, obviously, God has much greater plans for us, plans beyond our wildest dreams. As the old gospel song reminds us, this world is not my home. I'm just-a passing through! This is just our temporary home.  God confirms this to us in 1 Corinthians 2:9 which says:

But is is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

     It is my hope that you will take this and go about living your day, your life, with eternity in mind.  Now that ought to bring a smile to your face and a spring to your step!  Praise God, keep looking up, and share this truth with someone you may know who is mired down in the problems of this life.  Tell them where your hope lies!

But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with reverence and gentleness.  1 Peter 3:15

    

Too Good To Be True!

       This morning there was a quick knock at the door, and the usual barking that ensues from our dog, Max, notifying me of said knock.  I opened the door to find a Fed Ex envelope addressed to my husband.  Eddy was already at work so I took the liberty of opening it myself.  Much to my surprise it contained a check for $4000 made out to Eddy.  My heart skipped a beat!  We could use that about now.  Who couldn't?  I think I had spent most of it in my head paying toward my daughter's college, new tires for the car, and some other things that weren't necessities.  I had even thanked God for what seemed to be a blessing at the time, when it hit me...this is too good to be true.  It was then that I examined the check, and tried to call a phone number listed on the envelope.  Of course, the phone call wouldn't go through and the check looked sketchy. One more phone call confirmed my suspicions.  It was a fraud.  So many emotions in such a small amount of time!
    Haven't we all had that happen to us on more than one occasion in our lifetime.  We needed so badly for something good to happen to us whether it is in the form of finances, a relationship, a job or any other area of need.  We think it finally occurs, and we are ecstatic. Then suddenly things aren't as they appear.  The money doesn't come through, the relationship becomes complicated, and the job isn't what you thought it would pan out to be.  As with me and my fake check, it was all just "too good to be true." Disappointment pounds us, we berate ourselves for ever believing anything good could ever happen to us, and we live life just a little more jaded and skeptical. 
     However, there is someone, something that you can have in your life that seems "too good to be true" but is nothing but truth.. That someone is Jesus and that something is a personal relationship with someone who will never fail you in any way. Despite the fact that we have sinned and made some horrible decisions in our lives, God loved us so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, who knew no sin, to die an agonizing death on a cross for us.  In doing that, Jesus paid the debt that WE owed for our sins, forgave us and wiped our slate clean.   Sounds "too good to be true," doesn't it.  Yet, it is true. (John 3:16)
     God adopts us as children into His family, and we have an opportunity to have an ongoing relationship with Him.  This relationship has no strings and holds no heartbreak of abandonment. Despite the fact that hard times and disappointments will always be a part of life, we have a heavenly Father who will walk with us every step of the way and carry us when needed. Despite the fact that we will still sin and make mistakes in our lives, forgiveness is only a prayer away, and God offers us an unconditional love that never falters. He died for us when we weren't perfect, and He will never expect us to be perfect. Unconditional love! Wow! Can't even began to express to you how awesome that is to me in my life, how undeserving I feel as a recipient of this great love and grace.  Hard sometimes to grasp, yet, it is true.
     But there is more!  Death to this world is only the beginning to those of us who are God's children.  We have a promise of eternity in heaven with Him. Heaven--just the word itself evokes such joy. What this earth has to offer cannot even compare.  Beyond the problems, the sickness, the lonliness, the emptiness of this world there is love, comfort, peace, joy, and no pain, physical or emotional.  That's just the short list of all that God has in store for His children.
     Are you ready for the "too good to be true" part?  Here it is!  All that is required of you is that you BELIEVE what God's son, Jesus, has done for you and RECEIVE Him into your heart and life. Talk to Jesus, just as you would a friend. Admit that you are a sinner, ask His forgiveness, and tell Him that you want Him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. It is that simple!  Now you will want to know more than these few paragraphs hold.  Search out a church family to become a part of where you can grow and be discipled in your new life.  But, most importantly, develop your relationship with Jesus by spending time with Him and in His word, the Bible.  It is there, in those quiet moments that He will reveal more of Himself to you and guide you in finding the purpose He has for your life.  And yes, this is TRUTH.  Jesus even refers to himself in the Bible as the way, the TRUTH, and the life. (John14:6)
     Thank you allowing me to share my best friend, my Jesus, my everything with you.  Now I must go and tear up my $4000 "too good to be true check." Oh, well!  What seemed a cruel act of fraud, I now see as an opportunity. God works all things together for good! (Romans 8:28) As a result of that happening, God prompted me to share these words with you.  Now, perhaps you can share them with someone you know.  God Bless! 

    
    
    

Passing Judgement in the Wrong Season

     For the past seven months as the result of a recent move, we have been living in the home left vacant after my mother-in-law's passing. During this in between time, we have recently purchased a home and are waiting to move in.  However, there were moments when we thought seriously about staying where we are. The house is an older one, and in my mind I had imagined what updates I would do if it were ours. There were things to be done inside and out. When I moved in, it was late autumn, and most of the leaves had fallen from the trees.  The scraggly, naked limbs left me little clue of what kind of trees inhabited the fenced in area. Besides the fact that they were in need of some trimming, there were some that looked like they just needed to go due to overcrowding and esthetics.
     After the purchase of our new home, I gave the state of the back yard little or no thought since I knew we would be leaving.  It was with the return of Spring that I gave it further notice. As the weather warmed up once more, life began to return to the scraggly branches.  As the flowers come first to many trees, beautiful colors began to appear on the barren limbs. I was suddenly made aware of the beauty I would have missed since some of these trees were definitely on my "to go" list in the fall.  I had basically passed judgement on them without even knowing anything about them or their potential.
     Have you ever found yourself doing something similar with people you meet, making decisions about them before you really know them or introduce them to Who you know.  Think about who you were before you knew Jesus or who you would be without Him. That is a scary thought, isn't it!  What if you, like many of those scraggly trees, would have been considered of no account and added to the "to go" list.
     Perhaps people we know and see every day, maybe even people in our own churches are overlooked by us on a regular basis. This could be because we are "so busy" that we don't even take time to get to know them. Yet we form opinions about them based on who knows what! They are right in front of us, desperately waiting for a breath of Spring, searching to find something of worth and beauty in their lives.  We have the answers they need, yet we pass them by.
     Perhaps you are in a dormant, scraggly state right now.  You are a Christian, and you love the Lord, but "Life" has gotten in the way of your maintaining a close relationship with Him. You feel as though you are going through a time of drought and unbearable conditions in which there is no possibillity of Spring on the horizon. I am sure that is what Mary and Martha thought about Lazarus.  But, where Jesus is involved, there is always promise of hope. With God all things are possible. (Matt. 19:26)  Draw close once again to Jesus and allow Him to bring you out of that season and back into one of beauty, life and love.  You will need His help.  This is something that, hard as we try, we can not do on our own. He is just a prayer away.
     Now, as you go about your day, try to look beyond the rough, scraggly veneer of people you see and know. Hold your judgement. Try to envision them in a different season. A season full of potential in which they bloom and display the splendor of our Heavenly Father.  Then ask God what part he has for you to play in bringing that to fruition. Be available and willing to be a part of this process and invest in someone's life. God will give you the water of His word and the light of His son Jesus to share. Be dilligent.  And then, wait for it, wait for it...God will give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes ( Isaiah 61:3) , and you will have the joy of God using you to be a part of the transformation. What job or demand on our time could be more rewarding than this!
     By the way, the flowers in the picture above are from a Japanese magnolia tree which I definitely would have wanted cut down in the fall, not knowing what it was.  Oh, the beauty I would have missed!

        

Focus

     Photography is my hobby.  I love taking my camera outside and capturing images of God's beautiful creation.  Flowers, butterflies, and sunsets are some of my favorite subjects, and I have been known to stalk a butterfly for as long as it takes to get a photograph I want.  Their delicate beauty, patterns of color, and graceful flight are worthy of the effort put forth on a warm summer's day.  But, as you know, butterflies flit from one location to the next with little to no notice.  There is such a short moment in time to snap the picture, and, too often, what I think will be the perfect picture is far from it. The shutter opens just a second late, and I end up with a blurry image.  The image I so wanted to capture is out of focus, but I may have a great picture of the leaf or the flower behind the butterfly. Now, I know that this is not by any means the end of the world, but, for me, it is frustrating.
     This analogy came to mind several nights ago as I lay in bed unable to sleep because I was completely overtaken with concerns in several different areas in the life of our family. To put it more bluntly, I was awake worrying about "stuff." You know what "stuff" is!  We all have our own "stuff," and, no matter how much sleep we lose, it is still there the next day. However, in reality, the things reeking havoc in my mind were not really all that devastating and insurmountable.  These concerns only seemed that way because all my focus was on the problems, and when the problems were in focus, they appeared to be giants that could overtake me at any moment. I had completely zoomed in on them.
     It was in that moment of clarity that I found the answer I needed. I had to change the direction of my focus to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, and zoom in on Him. There I could leave my "stuff," let Jesus sort through the pile, and trust Him to give me the counsel I need.  Such a simple, obvious solution, but how the obvious things seem to elude us when we are worn out from the weight of our "stuff."
     On the way to church this past Sunday, my husband pointed out two squirrels scampering across the road. One of the squirrels sported his God-given long, bushy tail while the other squirrel had only just a few inches of tail left.  The latter had evidently encountered some problems and giants himself. However, he had moved on and was not lingering over his misfortune. He was not focusing on his loss. By golly, he out ran the other squirrel and beat him up the closest tree.
     So, the next time you feel like you only have a little nub of your long bushy tail left, take a lesson from that squirrel.  Don't focus on the loss, the "stuff."  Zoom your focus in on Jesus, and he will lift that load from your shoulders to His. And just as butterflies flutter from one place to the next, you will feel less burdened and ready to display the beauty of Christ in you.
  

Who Fenced Me In?

                               

While walking one morning, I turned to look toward the sound of a barking dog and saw the strangest sight.  Multiple boards were missing in the fence surrounding his yard. It would have been so easy for him to step through the big gaps to freedom.  Instead, he only poked his head out to bark.  Granted, the reason for his confinement probably had something to do with an underground fence and shock collar. However, that scene held a message.

Do we not often times live out that scene in our lives?  As Christians, God sent His son Jesus to die on a cross to give us freedom.  We are no longer slaves to our old life, past sins and failures.   We are free to live a new, exceedingly abundant life in Christ. Why then do we choose to remain in self-enforced captivity when freedom is already ours through Christ?

Allow me to offer one possible answer to this question—FEAR. We stay behind the open fence boards and do not venture out because of multiple reasons all related to fear.  Let me give you just a few examples. Satan delights in replaying moments of failure and mistakes in our minds in high definition with the details appearing more vivid and shameful than they were in the actual moment. We accept Satan’s lies about our incompetence and remain on the sidelines of life, fearing our history will repeat itself.

Perhaps we are afraid that we don’t have as much to offer the world as those we see beyond the fence.  We are not as educated, as attractive, as well dressed, or capable as are those walking by. Our self esteem is extremely low.  We wonder who would even notice or acknowledge us. We’ve tried repeatedly to “get in the game”, and the rejections, which become the realities by which we define ourselves, are too painful to face yet again. It seems best to simply accept our deficits and not venture out.

Then finally, there is the fear that we will never be “good” enough for God to fully love and use us in His Kingdom.  We know in our heads what the Bible says about God’s unfailing, unconditional love for us, but the truth of that has not successfully taken up residence our hearts. That truth seems to work for everyone else but not us. We feel we will never deserve all that Jesus died to give us because we have disappointed God so many times that surely He has given up on us.  And since that skewed reality breaks our heart, we keep it shielded and a bit hardened as a protective mechanism.  How then can His truths easily take root and become our truths when they are sown on a hardened heart?

This is the challenge.  We, and I include myself, must refuse to accept these lies as our truths.  Jeremiah 29:11 clearly states that God has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future.  That is God’s plan for everyone, not everyone except you!  Through Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection God has thrown the gate wide open to freedom from captivity and these unfounded fears in our lives. With God at your side, you can face whatever life beyond our self imposed confinement holds and claim the future and blessings that He has planned for you.  Take that first step through the open fence boards and remember you are not alone!

A Grace Filled Day

                                                    Indeed, we have all received grace after grace
                                                    from His fullness.     John 1:15 (HCSB)

     Please indulge me for a moment as I give you a bit of background for today's post.  Yesterday I awakened to what seemed an impossible day to pull off.  The day before had included a doctor appointment, two shots, and a prescription for antibiotics. Though I had seemed to elude it all through the worst of the winter, the "crud" had finally caught up with me. Though being sick never happens at a good time, this was particularly untimely for me.
     Yesterday, I had accompany Ben to an appointment with his doctor where he would be told that his gallbladder had to be removed.  With every test and needle stick for the past six weeks, he had become more anxious and fearful of the length of the next needle and the possibility of being "cut open."  As I drove off in the pouring down rain, tired from a night of very little sleep, and feeling rather lousy, I wondered how I would ever make it through the day at hand. How would I have the physical strength but even more importantly the emotional strength that Ben would need me to have for him?
     I knew that all I needed to manage the day would have to come from God because I did not have it in me. I turned on my CD of piano instrumental music, which tends to calm me, and began a prayer that would last the entire forty-five minute ride I had to make. I knew what I needed and began to petition God for that very thing.  I needed an extra measure of grace to carry me through the day, grace that would give me the strength, despite how I actually felt, to bring a calmness to Ben when the word "surgery" was mentioned.
     There was much dicussion and many questions to be answered after leaving Ben's appointment with the surgeon and heading to the hospital for, yes, another needle stick to have blood drawn in preparation.  However, with every question and the unfolding events of the day, I felt God's grace for the moments at hand. With Ben, a good meal at a Mexican restaurant always makes life better, and as he relaxed I could see that God was also showering a grace of calmness on Ben.  Despite the fact that the rain never ceased and in view of all that had happened, the day ended well.
     God, through His grace, had given me a supernatural energy and presence of mind needed to make it through the day despite my sickness. As I drove home, still in pouring down rain, I again turned on my CD and began to pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His gift to me that day. We all have these days, these moments in time when we don't have any idea how we will get through the day, the issue, the moment at hand. It is then that we have a choice to make.  Will we try to muddle through in our own waning strength and power, or will we look to God for what we need to tackle the situation?  Will we ask for an extra measure of grace, for His strength and guidance in the situaion? 
     I have shared so much of my day yesterday just to show you what God did for me on a day I was deperately in need of His help.  The same outcome is there for you.  It means you may have to quit running the ball down the field by yourself and pass it off to God to make the way.  Those times come more often than we like to admit in the hectic, fast paced world we live in.  There is no way we can possibly do it all on our own and we don't have to. God is there, just a prayer away with the grace required for your day filled with what seems like nothing but impossibilities. Just take time to share your needs with Him and ask.  He will not disappoint, and who knows what testimony you will have to share at the end of your day!

Leave a Message At the Beep

     Life during the past month has taken some unexpected turns.  Sounds familiar doesn't it!  Our son Ben has been ill and this has taken us to many doctor appointments, emergency room visits, and one brief hospital stay. The month of February has pretty much been a blur. As with other issues that pop up out of nowhere in the pages of our lives, this has been a somewhat consuming and distracted time for me. You know too well, I am sure, that with all the balls we are already juggling in the air one more can become too many and something has to go on the "back burner" so to speak. Most of my life I must confess that I have been guilty of allowing my time and relationship with Jesus to be the thing usually shifted to the "back burner."
How ridiculous that sounds and looks when I put it into print! 
     Perhaps it is because these other things that seem to be pressing so hard from all directions make the most "noise" in our lives.  We tend to respond to the constant harang of these things and miss that still quiet voice of Jesus calling us to spend time with Him, to just sit in His presence where we can find peace and direction and extra grace for the time at hand.
     Several years ago, Ben provided me with the perfect example of how I sometimes incorrectly handle my relationship with the Lord in the midst of turmoil.  My parents had come to our home to visit one afternoon.  Ben had not been having a very good day already.  Every day can be a new day in the life of a child with autism, and you never know what might be the thing that upsets the apple cart.  The arrival of his grandpartents, whom he loves so much, for some reason had an even more negative effect on his day.  Upon seeing them he locked himself in his room and refused to come out. After giving him some time and space, my dad and stepmother knocked softly on his door and encouraged Ben to come out.  Now get ready for it!  This was his response to them from behind the locked door, "Leave a message at the beep. BEEEEP!"
     It is OK if you just laughed. We did! Seeing the humor in situations like this is part of the survival mode for parents with autisitic children. His grandparents did as directed, told him they loved him and would love to see him, but he never left his room.  There were love, hugs and fellowship to be had on the other side of that door, but Ben could not, would not avail himself to it. Ben's condition often leaves his emotions and reactions out of his understanding and control. What is our reason for telling our Heavenly Father, our Lord and Savior to just leave a message at the beep because we are too overwhelmed with life and busy for him right now?  Why do we do that when we need him the most, when life is pressing in on every side? 
   Let Ben be an example of what not to do. Open the door of your heart and mind to Jesus when you hear him gently knocking. Life is loud and makes every effort to drown out that sound. You have to listen carefully and then take time to unlock the door. There on the other side is fellowship, guidance, extra grace for the moment, wisdom, and unconditional love.  There is peace in the most difficult of situations.  Jesus will not break down the door to get to you.  It is you who must open the door. (Rev. 3:20)
     If you already know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, perhaps this will just serve as a reminder of what you already know but have lost focus of in your life.  If so, make that reconnection with him right now before another day passes.  Maybe you have not given your life to Jesus, but you have been hearing that gentle knocking and voice at the door of your heart. Open that door to Jesus and learn of His sacrificial love, forgiveness and plan for your life.  Don't delay! That day when Ben did not open the door was the last time my dad visited our house.  It was our last time to visit with him outside of a hospital room before his death just weeks later. We never know what tomorrow might bring. Give Jesus the key to the door of your heart today.