Time With God

One great thing about being a mature Christian woman is knowing when you are lacking in your relationship with the Lord! (that is a joke - but a true statement - maybe minus the mature part!)

Yes, I know I've not spent the time I need to spend with my Jesus and I'm suffering because of it. How do I know this? Because I'm frustrated and edgy, but most of all, I'm longing. Longing to spend time with a precious friend that fills a huge void in my life.  I'm empty. I'm spinning my wheels with no return.

Nothing in my life gives back like time spent with God. Nothing. Time with family and friends does my heart good, but time with Jesus fills me up. It gives me perspective to deal with everything else. And, I'm missing that. My filter is clogged!

So, the answer (remember, I'm mature so I know the answer! lol) is to find some time to carve out and spend with the Lord. My problem is I don't want just any time. I want that fresh, uninterrupted morning hour. I also want extra time to wallow in His glory, not be whisked away with morning interruptions!   Unless I want to get up really really early, mornings are just crazy at my house. So, there in lies my problem - I'm too picky! The result - I'm not getting the quality time I need, and I'm suffering.

How do you carve out time for Jesus? Are you as picky as me?

As Long As it Takes

Much of my job entails marketing and promotion, so I'm hypersensitive to marketing when it comes to the Lord. I don't even like to write on this blog unless something has moved me so much that I think maybe it is worthy of putting out for the world to read. And, sometimes it is only meaningful to me.

I just heard this song for the first time. Before I listened to the song, I watched a short interview about how this song came about. And, it was exactly where her (Meredith Andrews) heart was at that moment. She didn't want to put music out there just to fill an album, she wanted it to mean something, but she felt empty, like there was nothing left to say. I can relate.

So, please take a moment and listen to this. It's beautiful. What blesses me is that there are people in the music industry who actually care enough to seek God first, and put out something meaningful. Trust me, it matters. I can hear it in their songs. And, I appreciate that they are walking the walk and not just talking the talk. It challenges me to do the same.

Here is the link. Hope you enjoy.
http://youtu.be/8uYOHsX_o7s

Who Are We Listening To

Here are a few verses from Proverbs 14 that spoke to me today. I really could have posted the entire thing, but in an effort to keep this short, I only put a few.


12. There is a way that appears to be right, 
   but in the end it leads to death. 
23. All hard work brings a profit, 
   but mere talk leads only to poverty.

29. Whoever is patient has great understanding,
   but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

Today I'm pondering my connection to those God puts directly in my life. We, as a nation and generation of the world wide web, value the opinions of many. We seek knowledge from various sources. We read and read and read about various topics, trying to stay current on everything humanly possible. But, today I've stopped to ask the question: Should we only be listening to those God has put in our path? 

God has a message for each of us. When you read his word, it may speak to me differently than it does you based on my life and what is going on. If God wants to reach me with a particular message, maybe he has given me a husband, a pastor, a friend to deliver that message to me. Certainly he can use the internet, the television, but he is such a personal God that I have to believe these people he has placed in my path may be a more direct connection to his message for me. 

Like I mentioned, I'm just pondering this thought today. I'm not saying I 100% have reached a conclusion. I'm wondering if maybe I should listen more closely to what those around me are saying and stop pursuing outside sources. Maybe everything God wants me to know is right in front of me, and I'm missing it. Information is good, but things can get lost in our age of information overload. That is all I'm saying. 

Shameless Promotion

Headed out for a little road trip and had to stop for some new tunes! I normally don't OD like this...but I couldn't make up my mind. I could just subscribe to XM radio, but it's just not the same to me! I like to own my music and listen to it over and over and over! Happy listening to everyone.

PS. I'm updating this post. After having owned these CDs and listened to them incessantly, I can give you and honest critique: They are well worth the money! JJ Heller's cd is plowing hard ground. She sings all about tough circumstances. And there are a few happy songs, but it's an emotionally tough CD. Santus Real - to me it has an 80s flair on some of the songs - which I love! The content is good. I think it gives you a male perspective of the pressures they feel while trying to "Lead" the family. Chris Tomlin - This one is also great, but for some reason was my least favorite. Had I bought it and only it, I think I would have gelled more with it. But, instead it took me longer to warm up to it. But, it is a great CD!

Brave

Tonight I'm reminded that we should all be brave! Not because we are perfect or what we are going to do or say is perfect, but because the only way we get better at something is to take a chance!

If we never took our first step, we would not be walking.  We would look stupid crawling around as adults! Yet, we keep all our talents to ourselves, scared to show them to the world. We might get criticized. We might get laughed at. We might do it all wrong! But, at least we started. We launched! We did something!!  There is always room to improve, but if we never start, then we simply never get any better.  So, get out there and take a chance. Do something brave!

Here is my friend doing something brave. She has been learning guitar for about a year. I didn't even know that she sang, and she even wrote the song. Why? Because it was important to her!! I love that. And, she is an extremely shy young lady, so this is HUGE in my book!

Bad News

A friend emailed yesterday with bad news: her brother-in-law, the father to her only niece, has just found out he has cancer.  That is bad news. But, what makes it even worse news is that her sister, the mother to her only niece, just passed away four years prior with cancer.  Pretty tough to swallow, and all I could think was, "this isn't fair."

Immediately after hearing this bad news, I felt compelled to have a little "what for" talk with the Lord.  I am not sure why I do that. I know it's not his fault. We simply live in a broken world full of many diseases.  I tried to think of some encouraging words for my friend. The only thing that came to mind was (paraphrasing) don't borrow tomorrow's troubles because today has enough of it's own.  I didn't tell her that. I just tried to love and hug her through email while holding back my tears.

This morning I ran across this verse in Matthew 13:17, "For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." Jesus was talking about the coming of the Messiah. Many had already given their lives to preach this message but never actually seen him.  They didn't live long enough - and some of them lived a long time! Yet, Jesus' current audience was seeing scripture fulfilled.

Reading this verse today gave me a glimmer of hope for the future. Many are down on their knees praying for a cure for cancer, probably much like our grandparents prayed for a cure for small pocks.  Yet, like these many righteous men who never got to see Jesus, we may never see the cure for cancer in our lifetime. But, we shall continue to pray because our kids or grand kids may be the ones who receive it. Plus, we serve a big God and sometimes people are healed. I was.

Even though it seems like the odds are stacked against you when you hear that terrible "C" word, pray anyway.  Don't let the devil get you down! Stand up and fight! And remember, Jesus did show up.

Matthew Chapter 10 'nuf Said!

As I read this chapter with fresh eyes this morning, I feel excitement, caution, worry, and pride all wrapped up into one. I see a Jesus who was calling his troops to battle. In his eyes, these men were ready for the challenge. They were ripe for the picken!  I can see the excitement in the disciple’s eyes, fresh, ready to take the charge. After all, the ultimate King of Kings was calling them to duty. How proud and honored they must have felt.

Yet, Jesus speaks with authority and caution, trying to make them understand what is before them. He tells them they will be persecuted. He uses the metaphor of sheep and wolves. I don’t know about you, but I would be scared to death to be a little newborn sheep, white as snow, without a blemish, thrown out to pasture with wild wolves all around (or coyotes for that matter). Yet, that is basically what he is telling them here. They are the “sheep among wolves…therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” 10:16

While he is sending them into dangerous territory, he is also equipping them with every tool he has. He gives them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Wow! Now those darn evil spirits have to listen to these 12 as well as Jesus. How empowering it must have felt to know they had that ability. Up until this point, only Jesus could do such things. 

Later he tells them, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” 10:26  All events surrounding Jesus had been somewhat mysterious. People didn’t understand who he was or how he could do the things he did. How exciting to know that all this mystery was now going to be fully understood by the chosen disciples. They were going to know and understand!  As I put myself in their shoes, I’m getting pumped up for the challenge even more, and standing a little taller because Jesus himself is disclosing mysteries to me, a mortal man!

I can see Jesus sensing this pride his disciples are feeling. He continues with love, grace and cautious optimism, warning them not to worry about those who can kill the body because they can’t kill the soul. (Yikes. You mean there is a chance this could end in death?) And then he discloses another mystery: He hadn't come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. (Balloon now somewhat deflated, eyebrows raised, got the disciples attention on that one!) Jesus probably would not have said it had they not been thinking it. Isn’t that what we all want…peace on earth, no more wars, everyone being of one accord? I’m sure it was no different then. “Sorry guys, it ain’t happening,” is basically what he told them in today’s vernacular. “But don’t worry too much about that,” he continues!

This charge set before them was exciting and yet a bit scary. But these men were willing. They had obviously experienced something supernatural in their short time with Jesus…something that pushed them on toward the goal. Something that made them leave their father, mother, sons and daughters.  Something that lasted even after Jesus' death. Those secrets must have been revealed in order to live out this call of duty. They certainly knew something that made them so brave and fearless to preach the good news. 

Jesus deposits all of that on the inside of each of us when we become his beloved and walk in his word.  He casts out all fear. He gives us perfect love. These disciples were given all of that. They were fully equipped by Jesus himself, and so are we if we take up our sword daily and follow him.

Staying Committed

Last night I was cooking dinner and my kids were cleaning their room. My son comes out and says, "This is hard and I don't like doing it!" Understandable.  I tell him, "We never like doing the hard stuff, but anything worth doing is going to be hard."

Then, it occurred to me that Jesus did the hard stuff for me.  He died on the cross, not me. He was tortured and brutally killed, not me.  I don't even have to go through the rituals that people did in the old testament times. I don't have to kill a sacrifice and bring it to the temple.  I just have to ask for forgiveness and it is given. How easy is that?

While I'm extremely grateful to live in this day and age, it occurred to me that I take my faith for granted because I'm not the one who had to do the hard stuff.  It was done for me.  Yet, I still have a torch to carry to the next generation. If my light goes out, so goes the faith of my children and their children. While I may not have to bring a burnt offering to the Lord, I still have things that I need to do like reading the Word, sharing my faith, sewing into my kids faith.  These are not things I would consider hard. The hard part is simply staying committed and conscious of doing them.

Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is Near

Ah, that verse? Really??  Keep reading!

What feeling or thought comes to mind when you hear that verse? Honestly, for me, I have had mixed emotions about that verse for a long time...until this week. Now, I'm going around saying to myself, "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is near," and it brings a smile to my face.

One of the ways I've seen this verse was futuristic...Jesus is coming back soon, better get my life in order...oh my goodness!  But, what Jesus meant when he said this verse was literally, the kingdom is near...standing right in front of you! How much nearer can it get! Jesus was standing there, offering people none other than heaven itself.

God would now  live on the inside of his people. No more long treks to the temple. No more cleansing themselves before they could even come close to God. He would now live on the inside of them! Awesome news for them and us.

I'm so glad he lives on the inside of me, being my comforter, being my peace, my joy!  While I love to go to church, I'm glad he doesn't only reside in church...but in my heart...where I can access him anytime....whether I'm clean or dirty, full of sin or repented. He is there!

A Fresh Anointing

This week, I was reminded how important it is to abide in Jesus.  Abiding in our saviour is more for our good than his. Maybe it is difficult to find time to spend with Him, but even if I have time, sometimes I don't have my focus where it needs to be. I can't concentrate on God's word. I'm distracted for a variety of reasons. But, I love a fresh anointing.

It usually comes through brokenness, or in my case, extreme frustration! When I am ready to bang my head against the wall, give up, throw something...which I don't encourage...God shows up. Not right at that moment. But, usually a little later, after I've calmed down.  I think it is because I've left nothing on the table. There is no guessing about how I feel, I've laid it all out, usually in a not-so-pretty way.  He comes and picks up the pieces and says, "Now I can work!"

Once I get out of his way, he can come with a fresh anointing, a fresh perspective, a breath of fresh air.  I can't stand that I work myself into a point of frustration, but sometimes that is life, that is real. And, I appreciate when people are real and even broken with me, so why would our God not appreciate the same truthfulness. He doesn't need our fake smiles, our "everything is fine today" words, he needs us to come humbly before his throne.  After I have humbled myself, or been humbled by life's circumstances, it seems only then that I am able to fully abide in Jesus.

When it Rains it Pours

Why is it when life gets hard, circumstances stack up against us, life takes its toll, we abandon everything we know to be true in Christ? Do we feel that he has failed us in some way? Do we feel like “well, I prayed and my situation is the same, so oh well!”?

Life is a challenge sometimes. And, when it rains it pours. As I get older, that has become a truth in my life! Does that make our God any less? Does that make the bible any less true? You know what I’m going to say: No!

He is the Son of God and man. He sees us right where we are. He loves us…right where we are…whether it is in a heap of life’s circumstances or a heap of trouble, or even the death of a loved one. God is still God. His word is still true. He didn’t say when we turned our lives over to him it would be rosy and perfect. We are still human, living under the curse that Adam and Eve set before us in the garden. But, we have a Savior! We have a redeemer, a comforter. And, when life gets to hard to bear, turn to Jesus. Let him comfort you. Let him love on you. Does it change your physical circumstances? Maybe not, but it definitely changes the way you see those circumstances. Praise his name….even when it seems impossible. His name is great…and greatly to be praised. If all you can say is “Jesus”, it’s enough!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog! It's nothing fancy, nothing super theological, just a little encouragement. I hope it serves to encourage those trying to walk the walk of Christianity. It's a tough walk and sometimes lonely walk. But, encouragement is out there, you just have to remember to look for it! (Hint: the bible is the first place you should look!)


Disclaimer: I am not schooled in theology. I don't claim to know every section of my bible inside and out. I'm just human...trying to live in the shadow of my Jesus. Oh, and I will shamelessly promote Christian singers, speakers, and events, etc., that I love! So, if that offends you in anyway, please don't read my blog.