Sunday, February 25, 2018

A Sunday Morning Surprise!


I woke up Sunday morning feeling a bit better after two weeks of bonding with our sofa.  Joel was not preaching anywhere so I suggested we go to a local church.  He was all for it.  He went out to blow snow and when he came back in I told him I felt strongly we were to go to St. James Lutheran, near our home.  Joel worked there as staff support at one time and we had not been back to visit in a long time.  He said, "Let's go!"  Quite a statement since he had 10 minutes to get ready before we headed out the door.  We made it to church on time.

We had barely arrived when the pastor filling in for his wife asked Joel if he would be part of a healing service they were having that morning.  An unusual occurrence in a Lutheran church, even though there is a healing service in one of the hymnals.

What a nice surprise and honor for Joel to be asked to help the pastor lay hands on people and pray.  Joel wanted me to go up with him, as we usually pray as a team, each bringing our own "gifts" as we pray.  I told Joel no, and then ended up arguing with Holy Spirit for about 15 minutes before I got up after the service started and stood with Joel to pray for people.  Obedience to Holy is very important.  You see, this is not our church, and I have this inbuilt need to please people when I am only to please God.  And being obedient to God, pleases Him greatly.  After the healing service I leaned over to Joel and said, "Now I know why we were to come here today of all days." Isn't God so good?

The whole obedience thing had me thinking about the time we were on our first big trip after my healing from Lyme.  We headed out east to a healing conference and spent a couple of weeks traveling, doing touristy things.  One friend shared with me that God wanted us to find a natural Spring and drink from it.  It went along with the many whispers from God about living water, etc.  so we searched for one along the way, but it was not until our last day of traveling that through a couple of God-incidences Joel heard about an Amish Spring outside of Shipshewana, Indiana.  He was telling his healing story to an Amish man in a gas station (yep) and he then asked the man about a spring.  We found the spring after searching for half an hour up and down country roads. It was nothing more than a pipe sticking out of the ground continually bubbling up with water....into a cattle trough.  Can I just say it took some convincing for me to drink from that spring?!  I argued with Joel and with Holy Spirit until Holy said...."I brought you hear now drink!"  I did.  Out of obedience.  I may have slipped in a prayer that I would not get parasites from the water....but I drank.  and the chronic UTI I was experiencing went away for 2 1/2 years.

Sometimes we are obedience and see results.  Other times we are obedient and don't see results.  I believe every time we are obedient to God's guidance, urging, or commands, there is a purpose behind it.  It is not always for us to know, but it is for us to listen and obey.

It was nice to be back in church today and to be back in a church where Joel had worked.....seeing some familiar faces, singing some familiar songs.  It was nice to do something we both love to do...pray for others.  God is so good.  All the time.  What a nice Sunday morning surprise!

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

A Goalie, A Puck And A Battle Plan


I happened to come across the USA women's hockey team and watched for awhile.  I noticed the goalie is always on the defensive.  Always alert, looking for that puck to come into her path, as the opposite team attempts to score.  She is wearing lots of armor ~ protective gear, making her ready for the battle. The team is there working to stop the puck from getting into the zone, but the goalie is really fighting the battle alone as she guards the net.

I sometimes feel like that goalie......do you?  Always on alert when the enemy tries to "score" with sickness, trauma, even death.  We wear the armor of God and we have a battle plan, but sometimes we forget that we are not alone as we work hard to keep the opposite team from scoring.  Never alone.

That ol' enemy comes around like a roaring lion as we read in scripture.  James 4:7 tells us more of how to stand in the battle.  "Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you".  FIRST we submit to God.  In the Greek it is more of a coming close to God.  A good place to be, isn't it.  In the shelter of His wings.  Coming close suggests intimacy, relationship.  Having that relationship with God gives us what we need to resist the devil.  And when we resist....guess who has to flee?  He HAS to.  He cannot hang around.  What a great promise!

Aren't you glad we are not left to fight alone?  Most of us have family and a faith community to walk with us with prayer, support, and encouragement, but more importantly we have God.  The Lord fights for us.  Just rest in that.........

Wearing the armor and staying alert are important keys to walking a life of faith, but we are never to forget that God is with us.  Draw close to Him, in relationship with Him, and the results will be good.
We will dwell in the safety of His wings...........such a good place to be.  So grateful.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Love Brings Us Full Circle

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and Joel and I have celebrated this holiday together for 52 years.  Mostly we just exchange cards, giving thanks for each other, and marveling at how time flies.  It is also Ash Wednesday and in our world this is a solomn season, the beginning of Lent.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  For over 35 years Joel uttered those words as he made the sign of a cross on foreheads.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

So this Ash Wednesday we will express joy in our love while remembering with quiet reflection our Savior's suffering and death, and our own mortality.  It seems appropriate, really, this combination of joy and sadness.  You can find both in what Jesus did for us all.  Sadness in the crucifixion, and joy in His resurrection and our salvation.

Spending the last 3 days on the losing side of a battle with a virus I choose not to label,  has had me bonding with our sofa.  This means Ash Wednesday will probably be spent at home.  One of the perks of being married to a pastor is we can have communion anytime we want to, and we do.  In the days I was the girl in the bubble, Joel would have a service with me at home...ashes to ashes on my forehead, communion celebrated.  In remembrance.  It holds special meaning for me.  It is part of our culture. 

In the midst of all this, the Olympics are on TV and we have been enjoying the events. I loved seeing Chloe Kim win her gold and observing the excitement her family felt.  Moving to the US in the 80's and sacrificing so much for their daughter so she could seek out her passion!  A Father's love for his child.  A Father's love for His children nailed Jesus to a tree.   Which brings us back to Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Valentine's Day.  Full circle. 




Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Old Gloves And Old Habits



I pulled my gloves out of my coat pocket and put them on as we drove down the street.  A couple  minutes later I noticed that the tip of the finger of my gloves had unraveled and I had a big hole from which my finger protruded.  I had something similar happen before and I had just sewn up the gloves but this time it looked like I would need to replace them.

I started to think about these gloves that I had worn every winter for.....let's see....no, it can't be.....I had worn them for 13 years?!  I had purchased them on clearance for $3.  They were a wool blend and a light blue color that went well with my coat. They were washable and kept my hands warm, so what more would I want.

We were shopping the day my finger wiggled at me through the hole in my glove, so I decided with Joel's encouragement to look for a new pair. I found a pair of isotoner gloves half price.  A bit of a a funky two-toned color, but when I tried them on they were such a good fit I bought them.  As I wore them I came to realize that my old wool blend gloves that I did not want to let go of kept my hands only half as warm as these new gloves. I kept saying to Joel, "Wow, my fingers are staying so warm" as we went in and out of stores.  Why had I waited so long?  I missed my old familiar gloves but had no complaints about the new ones. 

It seems I was so comfortable in the familiar that I did not realize my $3, 13 year old gloves were not serving me well anymore.  Of course Holy had to use this small circumstance to bring to mind other things I hang on to because they are comfortable and familiar and have worked in the past.  Maybe a bad habit.....or a way of coping with stress......or just stepping out into something new.

Speaking of stress, Holy has been making me aware of the techniques I use to cope with a stressful situation.  From childhood until my senior season, I feel it in my stomach first.  I may get very quiet or still while my mind is racing.  I go to the worst case scenario and work my way back when news is bad.  The fight, flight or freeze responses all come into play.  It has taken a toll on my body, so Holy has been bringing to my attention other ways to cope with that which shakes us.  We remove ourselves from the place of fear and stand with God on that beautiful place of trust.  I have to tell you, it is a work in progress....and God is patient as He walks with me on the journey.  It really is a good place to be though.  Letting go of the old for the new. 

So, I can't help but ask, do any of you have some "old gloves" you need to let go of for some new ways of living?  Are there any old habits, or coping devices that need replacing?  Holy is always in the business of making us more like the image of Christ, He definitely guides us on our journey...one step, one decision one "new pair of gloves" at a time. 


Friday, February 2, 2018

Keeping Thankfulness Before Us



I was listening to a young man read Psalm 138 before services started at Bethel Church, and he ended the scripture reading by saying, "Let's keep thankfulness before us".  I immediately saw in my mind people walking forward and right out in front of them was thankfulness leading the way "sitting in a zippy little golf type cart"!  It made me laugh.  Thankfulness was leading the way and making it possible for people to follow Thankfulnesswith joyful faces.

Putting aside that unusual visual, this reminded me of the story of Jehoshaphat found in 2 Chronicles 20.   All the armies were coming against Jehoshaphat and his army, and he knew they were no match for the others, so he asked God for help.  The Lord told Jehoshaphat not to be afraid because He would fight the battle.  Johoshaphat, king of Judah, sent out his singers first, just ahead of the soldiers.  They were to sing songs of praise, leading the soldiers into battle.  The songs of praise, of thankfulness, were more than enough, because the other tribes all began warring with each other and by the time Jehoshaphat and his army got to the battle field, everyone was dead.  His people were led by praise into victory.  They kept thankfulness before them!

I can't tell you the number of times God has highlighted praise to me in a circumstance or struggle.  Praise is a great weapon of warfare, and the enemy hates it when we praise our God.  Thankfulness brings our focus right back on to our Lord.  It leads the way for our own victories, whether, spiritual, physical or emtional.  Spirit, soul, or body.

In 2 Timothy Paul talks about us being given a Spirit of love, power, and a sound mind to replace the spirit of fear.  Maybe there is a Spirit of Thankfulness for us too.  Thankfulness can lead the way through tough seasons into seasons of blessing.  Thankfulness is KEY to spiritual warfare and to peace within.  Maybe Thankfulness is what unveils to us our victory.

Ann Voskamp has certainly changed her life one step at a time by writing down one thing at a time that she was thankful for.  She went from being a woman terrified to leave her home to a world renown speaker and author who is changing the world for others in places like Africa and Haiti.  All because she put thankfulness ahead of fear and found peace and victory over the enemy.  I love that!

Psalm 138 says, "I thank you Lord and will with all the passion of my heart!  I worship you in the presence of angels, Heavens mighty ones will hear my voice as I sing my loving praise to you!" (The Passion Translation)

My dear friend Linny Saunders has shared her own story of childhood abuse that lead to fear controlling her life.  She struggled with being alone for any amount of time, often having panic control her life.  And then God set her on a journey, and fear took a backseat in her life.  She is co-director of the International Voice of the Orphan, and flies to Africa a couple of times a year to work with her daughter and family at The Gem Foundation,  leaving her husband and family home. She still has 9 children at home, many with special needs. She is also an author and speaker, and I have been on the receiving end of her continual thankfulness to her Lord.  It centers her.

Keeping thankfulness before us shifts the atmosphere around us.  Keeping thankfulness before us keeps our eyes on Jesus,  guides us on the right path, and defeats that which comes against us and those we love. Keeping thankfulness before us brings us into His Presence.  It is a place where we can say as David did in the Psalms, "I sing my loving praise to You."  In His Presence, in thankfulness.