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Archive for the ‘Endurance’ Category

Like A Flood

Posted in Contentment, Courage, Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Guidance, Inspirational, Peace on May 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Greetings in the name of our precious LORD.

I don’t know about you, but my get-up-and-go seems to have gotten up and gone, and for the last few weeks I haven’t been able to find it. Pesky little medical conditions tend to do that to a person, but I am not the least bit discouraged. For now, I am resting my body, and more importantly, I am resting in the promises of my precious LORD. I do plan to dust my keyboard off very soon, but for today, I want to share one of my older “Polished Pearls” blogs that I feel quite applicable to my situation. Hopefully, it will bless you as well, as you face life’s challenges.

Like A Flood

“Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child.”

This past weekend, the weather here was horrendous. We were hit with the whole gamut of storm threats, including tornadoes, hail and flooding. In fact the hail stone pictured –or should I say hail boulder- was one of many that pounded this region. There was quite a bit of property loss in our area, but praise the LORD, there were no serious injuries.

I thought of the second half of Isaiah 59:19: When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. However, the ancient Hebrew texts did not have commas, or paragraphs for that matter, so instead of reading:

When the enemy shall come in like a flood —the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him

the verse could just as easily read

When the enemy shall come in —like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

What’s the difference? The difference is where you place the emphasis. Dear reader, when you are bombarded with the storms of life, do you focus more on the storm, or on the one who can calm it?

It is only natural to feel completely overwhelmed at times. Undoubtedly, many of the folks here that lost their homes in the tornadoes felt that way. I’m sure they could relate to the words of King David did when he penned the following:

My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me.
Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.
I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.
Psalm 55:4-8 NIV

But David didn’t stop there, allowing his situation to flood him with despair. Instead, he confidently proclaimed, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me” (verse 16).

Dear reader, I leave you with these encouraging words from the same Psalm; may they flood you with peace during your roughest storms.

“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved (verse 22).

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Don’t Glue Your Book To the Bed

Posted in Bread of Life, Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, Guidance, Inspirational, Persecution, Preparedness, Purity, Servanthood, Spiritual Hunger, Spiritual Strength on March 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

My raven-haired beauty was only four years old when she glued her library book to the bed.
I’m still not sure how she found the bottle of wood glue in the first place, but I do admire her creativity in solving what she considered to be a big problem. Of course, I didn’t approve of her method, but I had to smile at her reasoning. She explained, “Liz-a-biff kept trying to take my book. I had to stop her!”

Reading has always been an important part of my children’s lives. They were each given their own library card from the time they were old enough to toddle into the library. There, we spent many happy hours searching for just the right story to fuel their imaginations, and the perfect books to expand their knowledge about science and history, and all the other fascinating wonders of life. You see, their father and I wanted to instill the love of reading, and learning, into our children from a very young age, in the hopes that their love of such would be life-long.

Most importantly, we wanted our children to love God’s Word. They each had their own picture Bible before they could even talk. By the time they worked their way up to the good ole King James, all of our children knew more about the Bible than many adults do. In fact, this same raven-haired beauty once climbed a tree and began preaching to the people on the streets when she was only seven.

How I wish I would have been raised knowing God’s Word like that! Sadly, I didn’t learn any of it until I was an adult. But, it’s never too late to start. I have now been a student of the Word for over twenty years, and enjoyed every minute of it. I am so thankful that we live in a country that allows us the freedom to read our Bibles without persecution. Tragically, this may not always be the case. It is quite probable that Americans will soon join the ranks of countless others who have been persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.

If this ever happens, I can assure you that gluing our Bibles to the bed won’t prevent them from being taken away. However, there is something that we can do -starting now. The psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (119:11). I pray, dear reader, we would all do likewise. After all, once God’s holy Word is hidden in our hearts, no one can ever take it away from us!

I admit that memorizing Scripture, especially long portions of it, can be hard work–especially for us older folks. Even so, there are few pursuits in life that are more rewarding and beneficial. How then do we start, if we haven’t already? Simple, we can learn from the children on this one.

Have you ever watched a young child recite the words of her favorite story book to an audience of stuffed animals without having to look at the book? She is able to do this because she has read it (or had it read to her) so many times that it became a part of her. And because she loves the story so much, she can’t help but enthusiastically share it.

That’s how we should be with God’s Word. Because the Bible is so much more than just words on a page –it is God’s personal instruction to mankind- we should absolutely love to read it over and over until it becomes a part of us. And, we should care enough about our Holy book that we would rather glue it to the bed than let anyone take it from us.

Dear reader, it would be really silly of me to tell you “Don’t glue your book to the bed.” I would like to encourage you, however, to keep the Holy Bible “glued to your face.” If you’re not familiar with that expression, just ask my raven-haired beauty what it means; she still has a book glued to her face most of the time. That’s my girl!

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Shootin’ Snakes

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision, Guidance, Inspirational, Preparedness, Religion on January 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

It was one of those sticky summer days when the fish were not biting, but the snapping turtles were. I wanted to call it quits, but my stepfather fitly reminded me that we needed to catch a mess-o’-bluegill if we wanted to eat supper for the next few nights. So, I propped up my pole and disappointedly scanned the river for a hopeful sign of fish activity.

It wasn’t long before a big fat water moccasin decided to come calling. And if you know me, I not only hate snakes, I’ve been known to give one or two of those repulsive critters a heart attack with my piercing scream. Fortunately for me, my stepfather never went fishing without his holster strapped to his thigh. He whipped out his pistol and sank that nasty snake to its watery grave faster than you could say Wyatt Earp.

It wasn’t even five minutes later when Mr. Snake decided to investigate what happened to the Mrs. Lickety-split, he and the Mrs. were both resting in pieces. Two dead snakes, two night crawler-loving snapping turtles cut off our lines, and no fish –I was really ready to go home then. Still, my stepfather insisted we stay, until…..

Two more snakes shot dead, then another, then three more. Honestly, for every snake shot, two more took their places. I never knew that water snakes were attracted to blood, but apparently they are – at least the blood of their kin. We were pretty much forced to leave at that point.

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but there have been several times in my life when I was minding my own business, when suddenly I was surrounded by “snakes” – folks who tormented, mocked and attacked me for no apparent reason. I guess it just makes some people angry when you are fishing for the truth in God’s Holy Word, and seek to live by that; especially if that truth stirs the waters of popular tradition.

If there is one thing I’ve learned, however, it doesn’t pay to “shoot the snakes” because there will always be more to take their place. Scripture instructs us to bless them and pray for them instead (Luke 6:28). However, that doesn’t mean we should just stick around and accept their poisonous bites either; it is often best to just walk away (or run, as the case may be).

The first Psalm states: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. As long as we keep fishing for truth, and walking in it, God will take care of those snakes.

Psalm 1 continues: 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

These days, I don’t get the chance to fish very much – at least not for bluegill. But Jesus said, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” So, I’m going to keep on fishing! True, I might catch a few snapping turtles on my line, or run into a mess of snakes, but the LORD is right behind me taking care of everything, and He will make sure that I don’t go home empty handed!

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Don’t Toss Those Bones

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, God's Faithfulness, Inspirational, Servanthood, Thanksgiving on November 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Some post-Thanksgiving tips from an ardent food-stretcher.

Every year, after Thanksgiving, I have a few friends who bring me a very unusual gift –their turkey carcass (that’s what I call the big pile of bones that’s left-over after all the meat has been removed). Granted, bones might seem like a strange gift, but truthfully, I am the one who asked my friends to start saving them for me, and my friends have always been gracious enough to accomodate my odd request. Believe me; I always appreciate my boney turkey treats –and the friends who bring them.

Actually, this little tradition started several years ago when I was searching for ways to stretch our food a lot farther than our grocery budget. I know that many of you already do creative things with your left-over bones (broth), but today I want to veer from my traditional blogging long enough to share some post-Thanksgiving tips with those who might benefit from them.

After I put the rest of our turkey meat into containers and tuck them safely into the refrigerator for the next week’s turkey salad, pot pie, and casserole meals; I tightly wrap the bones in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer. When it’s time for some scrumptious soup–and what better time than a cold December day– I put the defrosted (or frozen) bones, in my boat-size slow cooker (and cover them with water) to prepare some tasty and nutritious broth. Unless you plan to feed a small army, however, you will probably want to use a crock pot and only half the bones).

Next, I open the spice cabinet and throw in whichever seasonings suit me at the moment. These usually include celery salt, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano and sea salt. I cannot give you exact measurements, though, because I am one of those “pinch of this” and “smidgen of that” kind of cooks. Just season your broth according to preference. Don’t forget, however, there is an unwritten law that anything cooked in a pot should have fresh garlic gloves tossed in!

Let the bones “cook” until the rest of the meat falls off the bone –and you will be amazed at how much there is. Then, strain the broth and sort through the bones, tossing the meat bits back into the broth. By this time you will have finely chopped some onion, celery and carrots to cook in the broth. I find that chopping the vegetables in the food processor makes for a much better soup than cutting them into bite-sized pieces. After the veggies have cooked a half- hour or so, stir some rice into the broth and let it cook until tender (how much rice you use depends on the size of your cooker and the amount of broth you are making. Add the rice sparingly, though, as it will swell greatly and your soup will turn into soupy casserole otherwise.

Finally comes the best part; about fifteen-minutes before serving, add ™Velveeta cheese, or shredded cheddar, to the broth and let it melt. Obviously, the amount of cheese will depend on how much soup you are making, and how cheesy you want it.

But wait, there’s still more. If you used only half the bones, you can repeat the broth process later for some other delicious foods. I prefer to make the larger batch of broth in the slow cooker then pour at least half of it into canning jars to store in the freezer. If you choose to do the same, be sure to leave at least one-inch of space at the top of the jar for the liquid to expand as it freezes. (You can freeze this soup after it is finished, but the better option is to freeze only the broth and finish the soup on the day you will be eating it.)

Now what to do with that extra broth? On a day when you need a very simple, no-fuss meal, simply pour a jar or two of defrosted broth into your crock pot with one or two bags of ™Reams egg noodles and let the crock do all the work. (If you froze small batches of leftover turkey as well, throw some of that in there too.) Can you say delicious?

By now, you have probably stretched that Thanksgiving day bird into at least six budget-friendly meals. And you might even have extra broth for some good old-fashioned turkey & vegetable soup or other recipes that call for chicken/turkey broth.

If you are blessed with awesome friends like mine, ask them to toss their turkey bones your way. You can make quite a few quarts of broth with just one turkey carcass. If you are like me, and spend half your life in the kitchen, you can use a pressure canner and can the broth. But freezing the broth works well too. I recommend the canning jars because the broth freezes well in them and stays fresh for a long time.

I could throw a few more ideas your way, but Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I’m sure you are busy; so I’ll wrap this up with a final thought:

Although we all enjoy the holidays, they can leave us feeling drained and weary. But life goes on and so must we. After all, there are plenty of people who need us, whether they realize it or not. I would just like to encourage you, dear reader, that when you are exhausted and feel you have nothing left to give; you still have a great deal more to offer.

There is an important lesson to be learned from those after-dinner turkey bones; although they appear stripped and useless, they are still sufficient to feed the hungry through the hands of a wise cook. In the same way, you  may  feel completely depleted, but if you place yourself in the hands of our wise and  loving LORD, He will multiply what little you have in order to “nourish” the lives of others; you need only be a willing vessel.

And he [Jesus] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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“Beadie Baby”

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Guidance, Inspirational, Preparedness on August 29, 2011| 1 Comment »

Boaz chewed a bead off one of his toys and Ruth spent the next few weeks trying to hatch it; silly cockatiels. I jokingly told my daughter, who collects Beanie Babies®, that I would soon have a “beadie baby” to show off. Although I made light of the situation, it was rather sad seeing the disillusioned bird coddle a wooden bead day after day, but she only moped without it, so I let her indulge. I had placed a nesting box in the cage in hopes that she would lay a real egg, but she wouldn’t even go inside. Instead, she just nested happily at the bottom of the cage, waiting for her “egg” to hatch.

One day, as I watched Ruth eagerly mother her “egg,” The Lord spoke to my heart and reminded me that my husband and I had tried to hatch quite a few wooden eggs of our own over the years. Some we called dreams, others we called goals. And like the wooden bead, there wasn’t any life in them; we just thought there was –hoped there was.

In frustration, we would pray and ask God, why he wasn’t helping our efforts to be more successful. He would then gently reprimand us, that in those particular areas, we were tending to our business not His. Ouch!

Don’t get me wrong, goals and dreams are good, even necessary. However, we will have a great deal more success “hatching” them if they were inspired by the Lord in the first place. James 4:3 explains that sometimes “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Again, ouch! Though I hate to admit it, my husband and I have been guilty of this more times than we care to admit in times past. If only we could make thus and such happen, we would reason, life would be so much better for our family. I’m sure the Lord tried to warn us that there was no life in those “wooden eggs,” but we were too busy coddling them and trying to make them hatch to stop and listen.

Thankfully, we have since learned, albeit the hard way, to stop and seek God’s direction before we invest any time, energy or money in our desired pursuits. Life is just too short to waste precious time on futile endeavors. Now, we are careful to seek God’s will and direction in even the smallest of matters.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him (I John 5:14,15).

But how do we know what His will is, so that we do not ask amiss? First, and foremost, we must know God’s heart. We can do this through prayer and the reading of His word. Do our desires line-up with God’s Word, or do they in any way oppose it? Second, do our desires focus on ourselves, or upon God? Who will benefit most from the fulfillment of those desires, us or Him? And third, will the attainment of our desires help to accomplish God’s plan for our lives?

Yes, dear reader, God does have a plan for your life –an incredible plan. You may not even understand fully what that is just yet. Perhaps you feel like a mama bird trying to hatch an egg, sitting and waiting for God’s plan for your life to spring forth. If that’s you, I would like to encourage you to just keep “feathering your nest” with God’s Word in preparation for that which He is about to do. And when the time is right, you will be amazed at what happens.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD (Psalm 37:23).

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Get Off My Back!

Posted in Anger, Contentment, Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, Guidance, Inspirational, Long-suffering on August 16, 2011| 1 Comment »

The coin was old, and it was gold; of that I am sure. I imagined that the notorious bandit, Jesse James, dropped it when he was headed to the caverns to stash some loot. After all, I was swimming just a stone’s throw from Meramec Caverns, famed hideout of the James-Younger Gang. True, they hadn’t been near the cavern for umpteen years, but it wouldn’t have been the first time someone found a relic from the gangs’ racketeering days in those parts.

The summer had been a scorcher and the water levels were extremely low. Everyone was concerned that some of the streams in the area would dry up altogether. That’s pretty much how I felt about my life at the time. And my prospects of ever escaping that life, it seemed, were drying-up just as quickly as those Missouri waters.

After graduating high school, I was able to leave that place – a place I had grown to hate– but all too soon, fate brought me back. If only I had known God, and understood how perfectly He orchestrates our lives, I might have been more content. But I didn’t know God back then; I only knew sorrow.

Swimming in the cool river brought a bit of diversionary relief, but I was still rather cranky. To make matters worse, my younger sister kept jumping on my back even though I had told her a dozen times to knock it off. I wasn’t even nice the last time I said it. “Get off my back!” I barked at her angrily.

In order to take my mind off things, I swam to a deep spot and dove under the water to search the rocky bottom for a nice keepsake. The water in that part of the river is normally too deep and fast-moving to swim in, but that summer, the conditions were more favorable. I figured that I might get lucky and find an arrowhead or an unusual piece for my rock collection. In my wildest dreams I would never have thought that I would find a gold coin from long ago, but I did.

With great anticipation, I brought the coin to the surface and slowly opened my hand to examine it. To my great dismay, however, I didn’t even get a chance to read the date on the coin, which was unquestionably quite old, because my sister had ignored my scolding and pounced on my back like a leopard on its prey. I don’t even know where she came from, but I know where the coin went –it flipped out of my hand and sank back into the river. Finding it in the first place was incredibly miraculous; finding it a second time was impossible! We all searched for more than an hour, but it was a hopeless cause and it was starting to get dark anyway, so we left the coin in its watery grave and headed home.

I was very angry at my sister; and that for quite a while. The more I thought about it, the more I had determined that the coin was my ticket out of that place. The realization that my golden opportunity had been knocked right out of my hands caused my heart to sink as well. I don’t know how much I would have gotten for the coin, but I figured it would surely be enough to start a new life. But again, fate was keeping me there -or was it God? I didn’t know Him then, but He certainly knew me. While I had my own ideas of how I wanted life to be, God had a different plan for my life all along.

Scripture says: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 NKJV).

To be honest, I still don’t like the fact that my sister jumped on my back that day, but I’m glad that God stopped me from pursuing my own desires. Had I gotten my way, my life would have gone in a completely different direction than it did, and there is no telling where I may have ended up. God loved me enough to keep me where I needed to be at the time. When He was ready to move me forward, according to His plan, He did. And I have no regrets, because my precious Lord has given me a life more wonderful than I could ever have imagined. I still don’t have much gold, but I do have something much better –genuine peace and happiness.

Dear reader, is there someone you want desperately to “get off your back;” a boss or family member perhaps? Is there a circumstance in your life that has caused your heart to sink and given you a feeling of hopelessness? I want to encourage you that God, in His great love and mercy, knows just where you are and what you are going through. If you are frustrated because you are stuck in a place you don’t want to be, whether physically, financially, emotionally or spiritually; be patient. The events in your life are not decided by some cosmic flip of the coin, but rather, God is working all things out for your good, according to His divine plan.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Finally, please remember that the riches of this world may come and go, but God’s love is forever. Once you take hold of it, no one can ever knock it out of your hands. Even when this life’s difficulties ‘pounce’ on you, as they sometimes will, God is still in control;  and He is working to ensure that you have a rich life despite the way things appear to be.

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Pasture Muffins

Posted in Brokenness, Devotional, Emotinal Pain, Emotional Healing, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, Inspirational, Thorns, Victory on July 25, 2011| 3 Comments »

Let’s talk poop for a moment. Don’t worry; I won’t bother you with some boring scientific thesis on excrement —that would stink. However, l want to remind you that God has a way of growing roses out of manure.

This might seem an incredibly odd topic, but I honestly believe with all my heart that God has created our world in such a way that we may learn important lessons from everything in nature. From the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, to the fiery eruptions of a volcano, we can see God’s intelligent design.

So it is with pasture muffins. An average man can walk through a pasture and see nothing but piles and piles of poo, whereas an insightful man might see acres of nutrient-rich plant food. It’s more than just a matter of pessimism versus optimism, though. It is a matter of understanding that God designed all things perfectly and He doesn’t consider anything to be waste. Thus, we may view the difficult circumstances of our lives to be as dung, but God looks upon them as nutrient-rich food for our spiritual growth.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Furthermore, Scripture says God raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill (Psalms 113:7). If you keep reading, you’ll find He doesn’t stop there. After he raises us up, he makes ‘roses’ grow right out of the dunghills so that we can see his love, mercy and compassion in the midst of every trial and circumstance.

Naturally, when we see a rose, we tend to think only of God’s beautiful creation. It would be beneficial, however, to  remember that roses sometimes have thorns.  These serve as a reminder that we must not take His grace for granted.  If you handle a rose carelessly, it will prick you. Likewise, God has a way of “pricking” us if we become indifferent to His working in our lives.

The apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh.” He explained, “lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance… there was given to me a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). He goes on to explain that his “thorn in the flesh” was a “messenger of Satan” sent to buffet him. The word buffet means to contend against or battle. The Lord God, in His infinite wisdom, allowed this person to constantly buffet Paul in order to keep him humble, and never take his position for granted.

Sometimes our thorns serve to remind us that, in this world, our lives will always be a bittersweet mixture of beauty and pain. The apostle Peter said: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy (I Peter 4:12,13).

As to Christ’s suffering, that brings me to another point; Even He experienced the stench of the dunghill.  That is to say, He was unjustly crucified at the place where all the “refuse” of society were taken to be executed —what a fitting place to defeat death.

Our Messiah willingly surrendered His life on Mount Calvary so that he could offer himself as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins and reconcile us to God. But when that battle was finished, He rose from the grave, having conquered sin and death.   Truly, when our Lord, Jesus Christ, said “It is finished!”  that awful dunghill lost its power.

So you see, even if this life is littered with pasture muffins along the way, it doesn’t matter.  If we have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, He has already lifted us out of the dunghill.  And someday soon, we will go to live with Him eternally. There, our pastures, having already been fertilized by these earthly trials, will be full of roses without thorns. Nothing could ever be more beautiful than that.

Hallelujah.

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North is the Front of the Car

Posted in Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision, Guidance, Inspirational, Preparedness, Religion, Spiritual Strength on July 14, 2011| 3 Comments »

Because I am a D.C.D (directionally challenged driver), I often jest that “North is the front of the car.” This means, of course, that I prefer that people direct me to turn left or right instead of north, south, east or west. This may seem odd to some of you but I grew up in Nowhere, U.S.A. There, our idea of a traffic jam was two cars stuck behind a slow-moving tractor. When my family did finally move to the big city, (population 4,000) we didn’t even have stop lights, let alone the nonsensical stuff like one-way streets –which, for the record, are not at all safe for D.C.D’s!

You would think that I, of all people, would have a GPS in my vehicle, but oddly I don’t. One of those gadgets would probably make me crazy anyway; I don’t think I’d like to hear some faceless voice assuring me that she is “recalculating” every time I miss a turn. I did try a dash-mounted compass once, but that only messed me up more –trust me, it’s possible.

Fortunately for me, God blessed me with a help-mate. He frequently prevents me from ending up in Timbuktku —which is in Africa I think— by making me a very detailed, step-by-step map every time I drive someplace new. Normally, I can’t find a lit candle in the dark, but I can follow my beloved’s instructions easily, even if north is the front of the car.

After I married, my husband and I did not just move to the city, we moved to another world (population far too many). To this country hick, everything was foreign and uncomfortable. But I can gladly say that after all these years I finally feel somewhat confident that I can find my way around the place. However, if it were up to me, I would rename this city “Road Construction Ahead.” We wouldn’t even have to spend money on new signs; there are plenty that have those very words on them everywhere you look. And you know what that means; detours. Yep, that’s just what a D.C.D needs.

Then there are the streets that are located in at least three different parts of the city, those nasty one-ways, traffic circles, and worst of all; rude drivers who don’t let you get over into the turn lane until it’s too late, forcing you to miss your turn. Recalculating.

Life can be like that too. We pretty much know where we are heading, but sometimes we simply get confused and don’t know which way to turn, or we get hit with unexpected detours. At times like that, we need a very detailed roadmap. Fortunately for us, God provided us with one —it’s called the Holy Bible. He loved us enough to give us step-by-step directions to help us travel through this life so that we can arrive at our destination (eternity) safe and sound.

Additionally, God knew that some of us would be a little directionally challenged so he gave us a Helper. Jesus promised:

…the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26 NKJV)

Dear reader, if you feel lost or frustrated in your life, I would like to encourage you get to know this helper by spending time reading the Bible. Its directions are clear and easy to follow. If you look on a map, north is ‘up.’ Scripture says to look up, for your redemption is near (Luke 21:28). In the vehicle of life, Jesus is north. That being the case, I am proud to say that north is the front of my car, and I plan to keep it that way.

“Sink the Bible to the bottom of the sea, and man’s obligation to God would be unchanged. He would have the same path to tread, only his lamp and his guide would be gone; he would have the same voyage to make, only his compass and chart would be overboard.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

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Knights in Daze

Posted in Armor of God, Devotional, Encouragement, Endurance, God's Provision, Preparedness, Spiritual Strength, Victory on June 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Photo: © Jørgen Erik Christensen

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13).

Like any good soldier, I put my armor on daily –at least most of it- but this old armor is dented, scratched and tarnished from battle. Come to think of it, so is my husband’s. I can only look back with amusement to those long-ago days when I, like most foolish schoolgirls, dreamt of my very own knight in shining armor whisking me away to the land of happily ever-after.

My knight did finally come along –and he was tall, dark and handsome- but his armor was certainly not fancy or impressive. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Yes, I could have settled for some dazzling knight in shining armor. Nevertheless, by the time my would-be husband entered my life I had matured enough to realize that true warriors were experienced in battle and their armors were well-worn. The Lord had sent me a man who was quiet and unpretentious on the outside but spiritually robust inwardly. I knew that whatever battles we would face in life, my rugged knight would be up for the fight.

That is not to say, however, that we have never been injured in battle. The Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, the battles we face are often arduous and exhausting, leaving us battle-weary and dazed.

Consequently, putting on the full armor of God is absolutely essential if we are to overcome these forces. Scripture instructs us to put on the armor so that we can withstand (resist) in the evil day, having done all, to stand. The Greek word for stand, pronounced his’-tay-mee, is speaking of abiding in steadfast faithfulness.

In other words; if we clothe ourselves in our spiritual armor each day -which is truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation- we will be equipped to overcome every battle –never faltering in our relationship with the Lord and never retreating from His service.

The whole concept of medieval knights has been greatly glamorized over time, but in reality the average knight, although well-respected, rarely achieved the fame and status that modern legend has portrayed. Though born of nobility, they were very hard-working soldiers who were trained in battle from the earliest days of their youth. They devoted their entire lives to serving their lords and protecting the general populace, laying down their own lives when necessary. The knights of old, like soldiers of Christ, never retreated from service.

Furthermore, the average knight rarely wore a shining, unblemished armor. Those who did were generally the lazy, uncaring men who flaunted their wealth and self-professed superiority. These men loved to don their most elaborate armor and participate in exhibition events. Not much has changed. There are a lot of folks walking around in shiny spiritual armor. They may look the part, but I would much rather be surrounded by the soldiers in God’s army whose armors show signs of use.

Why? Because there are times when I need other warriors to fight on my behalf. Sometimes “I drop my sword and cry for just awhile, ‘cause deep inside this armor, the warrior is a child. Unafraid because His armor is the best, but even soldiers need a quiet place to rest…” (Twila Paris song, The Warrior is a Child)

What about you? Do you feel that life’s battles have left you battle-weary and dazed? Jesus lovingly admonished: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

The seasons of rest we now enjoy may be temporary, but always remember, someday soon the Lord will return to whisk us all away to the land of happy ever-after. I can hardly wait. Till then, I plan to keep this battered old armor; it has served me well.

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Sour Lemonade

Posted in Contentment, Devotional, Endurance, God's Faithfulness, God's Provision on March 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

photo credit: Joell Ortiz

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!” Hats off to the clever optimist that first coined that phrase, but I think he forgot something. If you don’t put any sugar in that lemonade it is going to be unbearably sour –what’s the benefit in that? And as we all know, life seldom hands you lemons and sugar at the same time.

Take Tuesday morning for example. I woke up with all those flu-like symptoms that lets you know life will be on hold for the next twenty-four hours or so; no getting out of bed. Then the first call came. “Mom, I’m sick and I have a fever. You need to come get me.”

A short time later my husband called. “Are you sitting down?” he asked. (Don’t you just love phone calls that start like that?) After he told me the reason for his call I felt even sicker. “The car’s ready to be picked up” he said, “but it’s going to cost more than we thought. The bill is one-thousand dollars.” Who would’ve guessed that the car would’ve cracked its head gasket at the same time we were having fifteen-hundred dollars worth of repairs done on the van. Oh well, the car would have to be picked up later, I thought as I crawled back into bed.

My son and I both spent most of the day in one of those deep, illness-induced sleeps so I didn’t have much time to think about all those sour lemons, not that I really wanted to anyway. After several hours I moved out to the couch awaiting my husband’s return. I figured he would want to discuss the household needs for that evening if nothing else, but he didn’t. He simply cared for me then gingerly kissed my forehead. Feeling quite loved at that moment, I drifted off to sleep knowing that he would take care of everything.

Then, a few hours later, I awakened to the sounds of my beloved in the kitchen making dinner. And this was after picking up the car, chauffeuring kids and running a few errands. I figured he would be stressed at best and probably even moody and irritable. But there he was joyfully humming. I strained to hear the tune. Yes, he was definitely humming Be Thou My Vision.

This beautiful Irish hymn was written in the eighth century and later versified in 1905 by Eleanor Hull. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this touching song, the words are as follows:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

His humming was comforting so I put on some music and lay immersed in the lyrics of beautiful hymns. Some of them, like Be Thou My Vision, focused on God himself, others focused on His Word. My body wasn’t healed that very moment but I felt greatly strengthened because:

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)

Scripture also says: How sweet are your words (Lord) to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth (Psalm 119:103)

This explains why my husband was joyful and at peace even in the midst of sickness and financial burden. We had been given some pretty sour lemons that day, but he knew that our heavenly Father loved us and that He would take care of everything –and that my friend, is sweet!

Bryan had chosen to turn our lemons into lemonade. That is to say, he made the decision to ensure the expensive repairs were all made so that his family would have safe, dependable vehicles to drive. Then he sweetened that lemonade by focusing his thoughts on the Lord –allowing Him to be his best thought by day or by night. And I’m sure, my husband rested in God’s comforting promise to supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

What about you? Has your lemonade been sour lately? Remember, if you drink sour lemonade –you’ll wear a sour expression. Just a little food drink for thought.

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