Month: September 2013

Watching for God

Posted on by Wendy

It was a crazy, exciting, anxiety filled weekend at my house. My 14 year old freshman was preparing to attend her first homecoming dance along with 14 (or so, depending on the day), of her friends. These girls didn’t have dates, but decided to go together as a large group. There were other groups who went as friends as well. I find this to be a really cool trend among these kids; back when I was in high school, if you didn’t have a date, you didn’t get to go. Sometimes traditions change for the better.

We bought her dress over a month prior to the big event and had shoes and alterations done well in advance. Still, my daughter was very anxious. Would anyone ask her to dance? Was her dress as pretty as everyone else’s? How would she do her hair and make-up? While these are normal teenage anxieties, I found myself overwhelmed with my own. Would all of these girls be kind to one another (teenage girls sometimes aren’t). Would we have enough cars to drive all of these girls to the places they needed to go? Would the restaurant be able to handle such a large reservation on a UGA game day? There ended up being twenty kids.

I took a walk and prayed for God’s hand to be on the evening ahead. I prayed that he would touch all of the girls’ hearts and help them to be kind to others and each other. I prayed that he would give them courage to stand up for what is right. I prayed for everyone’s safety and I prayed that they would have a night filled with fun.

The evening went off without a hitch. The girls all got ready at one house and we heard lots of laughter from upstairs. Then we caravaned to a little farm with a pond and got some beautiful pictures, some of the entire group and some individuals and some in smaller groups.  After that, three of us drove to a restaurant where they had dinner reservations and no, the reservation was not a problem. When I arrived at the restaurant, I realized I left my purse at the house where the girls got dressed. I prayed I wouldn’t get stopped by the police. I didn’t mind a ticket at this point, but I was on a mission to get these girls safely to the dance. The girls finished dinner and we were on our way.

We arrived without incident and I felt a little sigh of relief. I dropped them all out and told them I would return in a couple of hours and take them to another girl’s house so they could have a bonfire and spend the night. I retrieved my purse, went home for a little while and returned to the high school. The girls all came out laughing and with great stories. They had a blast. There had been an incident earlier in the evening with inappropriate dancing and quite a few kids left in protest to the administrations’ rules, but these girls stayed together and made some fun memories. I drove them on the last leg of our evening’s journey and helped them unpack their things. I bid them all goodnight, hugged my daughter and headed home.

It was 11:30 when I got home and I was exhausted. I slept in on Sunday and a friend brought her home. She had a great evening. They stayed up late watching movies and talking. She had great memories of her first dance. I was so thankful. I prayed little prayers of thanks all day long for God’s loving hand on the situation. My husband and I, went out later that afternoon to get groceries. We smelled coolant coming from the engine. We turned around and went home to check it out. The van was leaking coolant and was low on oil; it may have an oil leak too.

The hair stood up on the back of my neck and my eyes filled with tears as I thanked God once again for his hand on the events of the evening before. I had driven a van full of girls all over town, in traffic, then late at night. I drove home alone after the final drop off and not once did I have any indication that there was anything going on with my car. If the car would have stalled on the way to the dance, those girls would have been heartbroken, but it didn’t. I had prayed for God’s favor on the evening for the girls almost non-stop and he delivered as he so often does, in ways I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

I won’t know until sometime tomorrow what kind of repairs my van will require, but I will never forget the gratitude that I felt at the very moment I realized that so often when I pray blessings for someone else, God answers with blessings on me. I am just so thrilled that I had my eyes open wide enough to see it.  I could have missed it being upset about the repairs that we will have to pay for, but not this time. This time I saw the blessing because this time I was really looking. How about you? Do you look for the blessings in every situation? How do you watch for God?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Beautiful Power of Friendship

Posted on by Wendy

 

Pansies add a lot of winter color even though they are only around for a season.
Pansies add a lot of winter color even though they are only around for a season.

I believe that friendship is truly a gift from God and all friendships are beautiful in their own unique way. Even those that only bloom for a season can add fabulous color and beauty to our lives in the moment. Even Jesus, surrounded himself with friends. He really liked being around people and although he had many friends, he had a few besties too. Peter, John and James were the only three who got to witness the transfiguration.

I was recently reading the Daniel story. Remember him from Sunday school? You know, the lion’s den guy? He also had three friends, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego. They were the guys who were thrown into the fiery furnace. There was a crazy king who had a bad dream and not only did he want the dream interpreted, he wanted someone to tell him what his dream was as well. Of course, no one could do this, so he was going to have all of the astrologers, magicians and wise men in his kingdom killed. This also included Daniel and friends. Daniel, first asked the king for a little time and then he asked his three friends to pray that God would reveal the answer to him. They prayed and guess what happened? God answered them and revealed the truth to Daniel. The king was happy and told Daniel he could leave the palace and rule over all of Babylon. Did Daniel take the offer? Nope. He asked the king to put his three friends in charge and he remained in the palace. Daniel put his friends before himself. This is also a fantastic example of how asking friends to pray for us works.

In a later story in the Book of Daniel,  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are told if they don’t bow down to a golden statue, they will be thrown into a fiery furnace. They all stood together and refused. How do you think the story would have ended if one of them caved? They all stood together. There’s great power in friends who will stand shoulder to shoulder with you in the face of adversity. There are probably few things here on earth that are more powerful. They all got thrown into the furnace, but survived without a hair singed on their heads. The scripture says their clothes didn’t even smell like smoke. Keep in mind, the fire was so hot, that the officials who threw them were burned up.

The fabulous thing about friendship is that it can be beautiful and unbelievably powerful and strong at the same time. There are many examples of friendship throughout the Bible. It is definitely a gift from God and something to be treasured no matter how long it may last. Today, I’m going to say a special thanks for the many blessings of friendship I have been given. Will you join me?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Being Thankful

Posted on by Wendy

Today is cleaning day at my house. Good times! Believe it or not, I have some of my best conversations with God when I’m doing household chores. Weird right? A few years ago, when I was scrubbing the toilet, (one of my least favorite jobs), it struck me that I really should be thankful that I had a toilet to clean. Not everyone has toilets or even running water.

The World Health Organization reports that 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to water, (ie: no toilets, showers, sinks, not to mention modern luxuries like washing machines and dishwashers). That’s a lot of people. It kind of makes me want to hang my head for complaining about cleaning a toilet. If these people don’t have water, you know they don’t have electricity. I remind myself of this fact when I’m vacuuming or ironing.

Most of us take our modern conveniences and luxuries for granted and to be fair, we really don’t know any differently, but it wasn’t that long ago that the majority of people didn’t have dishwashers and washing machines not to mention coffee makers and computers. My dad remembers his family’s first light bulb and my mom (if pressed), will admit to having used an outhouse. We’ve come a really long way in a relatively short amount of time and living in western culture gives us even more luxuries. We should be a very thankful people. But are we?

Thankfulness is definitely learned. How many times have you heard a mother tell a child when they are given something, “What do you say?” I still remind my twelve year old to thank the parents of whichever friend he has spent the day with. Being thankful doesn’t seem to be a natural state for us. In the Bible, when the Israelites had seen all of those plagues and the Red Sea parted, they still complained about nothing to eat and then they complained about lack of water. Although God generously  provided these things , the scripture never says they were thankful.

Paul tells us that we should be thankful in all circumstances in Thessalonians 5:18. Does this mean I should be thankful when I’m scrubbing tubs and toilets. Yes, I think it does. I read a book recently called the 4:8 Principle, by Tommy Newberry.  The book is based on Philippians 4:8 and it was life changing for me. When you really start to list all you have to be thankful for, you find there are usually way more pluses than minuses. God is a genius with accounting. I’m glad I get to work for him.

Thankfulness is a state of mind and one we can all learn. I remind myself of this when I’m cleaning dinner dishes. If there were dinner dishes, then there was dinner. I give thanks for food to eat. Try to make a list of your many blessings. You will be surprised and the next time you have to do something unpleasant like cutting the grass, make a mental list of what you have to be thankful for like: that you have a mower, that you have a yard, that you have arms and legs to push a mower (or enough money to have bought your riding one), that we are out of drought… This is another one of those endless lists, yet another reason to be thankful because God is so generous. So let’s all say thanks and watch for all of the blessings that surround us.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Rain

Posted on by Wendy
If we weather a little rain, there's often a reward.
If we weather a little rain, there’s often a reward.

My daughter came downstairs this morning sporting a new pair of ankle boots that she has been dying to wear to school. When we got ready to go, it was raining. She was disappointed, trying to decide whether to wear them or not because she was worried about ruining them. In the end, she decided to go for it. What do you know? The rain had slowed to a light mist by the time we arrived at school. I promised myself I would take a run today (okay honestly, it’s more walking than running; but running sounds cooler ) Anyway, when I got ready to go out, it was raining, but slowing. A huge part of me was thinking, “oh well, it wasn’t meant to be,” but I ignored that little voice and went anyway. And you guessed it, the rain stopped.

This rain dilemma really got me  thinking. How many opportunities do we miss out on because of a little rain. How many times do we skip church because it’s raining or too cold? How many chances to get together with friends do we miss because we are too tired? How many walks do we miss? How much beauty do we miss because we decide to stay indoors where we are safe and dry?

As I pondered this, I dug a little deeper. How many times have I said, “I would love to do a Bible study, but I don’t have time?” I also often hear someone  say things like “I don’t live in a friendly neighborhood.” I wonder, has that person, personally tried to organize a neighborhood get together? I also often hear, “I would love to participate in (you fill in the blank here), but I don’t want to organize it. Why not? Someone has to take the first step. Why not you? Why not me?

When we first moved into our neighborhood, my husband and I thought it might be fun to organize a neighborhood hay ride for Halloween. I got together with another neighbor of ours and we put a flier on every mailbox. What do you think happened? Our neighbors were thrilled. The people with young kids were happy to have a safe mode of transportation and a large group. The older neighbors were tickled to get to hand out candy to little goblins who were supervised by their parents. And the kids, well, they were eating candy til Christmas. All it took was printing some fliers and talking to some neighbors. Not all that difficult, right?

We all long for the world to be the way it used to be, where everyone knew their neighbors and we didn’t have to lock our doors at night. While we can’t go back, there’s no reason we can’t re-establish community. Your community may be your physical neighbors or people you go to church with or people you work with or people you went to high school or college with; this is another one of those endless lists.

The point is, I think we all want to be part of a community; it seems to be inborn, (remember wanting to be part of a group in middle school or high school?)  I think God designed us this way. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT , tells us “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. ” It goes onto say that three are even better than two.

As adults, we have many choices on what our community will look like, but if we want to be part of a loving, caring and supportive community, we may need to be the one to take the first step, even if it’s raining or the house is a mess or we’re tired or busy. If we wait for the perfect time, we may be sitting in a nursing home. Somebody has to go first. Why not you?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Learning to Listen

Posted on by Wendy
When you cast a stone, you never know how far the ripples will go.
When you cast a stone, you never know how far the ripples will go.

My church has been going through some rocky times lately. While this is not uncommon, it still can be kind of miserable when it happens at your own church. The thing about churches is that they are run by people; they are people trying to serve God, but still people. People are broken by nature. Think about what a glass looks like when it’s broken; it has sharp edges. Broken people are like that as well. Most of us have certain parts of us that are sharp and we can cut others as well as get cut ourselves. Feelings sometimes get hurt and people leave the church altogether.  Who wins then?

I was recently talking to a dear friend of mine about our church and its current troubles. She had become very frustrated and was wondering what she should do. (Just for the record, we take turns encouraging each other and that day just happened to be my turn.) We talked for a little while and then we hung up. But, this particular day, I felt like God was in my ear and was putting the idea of pruning in my head, so much so, that I had to call her back and share it with her.

When you prune a tree or a bush, it’s very ugly for a time.  Sometimes you prune way back and sometimes just a little; either way, there’s a season where it looks bare and sometimes, it looks completely dead. But, then something amazing happens. The season changes and that ugly little tree or bush will burst out in growth and bloom more beautifully than it ever did before.  Jesus tells us in John 15 that the Father is a gardener who cuts off every branch that bears no fruit and he prunes every branch that does so that it can be even more fruitful.  She thanked me for calling her back and agreed that maybe I was right.

That was a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday, she sent me a text and told me how a good friend of hers was going through a really  bad divorce. The friend called her late one evening for some encouragement. She shared the pruning story. She said her friend began sobbing and told her that was exactly what she needed to hear.

When I read the text, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. God gave me a message and told me to share. I did. My friend then shared it with her friend and was able to bring her some comfort. I think this is part of  God’s plan for us while we are on this side of heaven. I think we are supposed to bring comfort when we can and show kindness and encouragement to our fellow humans.

Jesus told us that the most important commandment was to love the Lord your God with all of your soul, mind and strength and then he said the second most important was to love your neighbor as yourself. He said there was no greater commandment than these two. (Mark 12:28-30) That seems simple enough, right?

Apparently not, just turn on the news. I have to ask myself, how am I doing with loving my neighbor and I have to admit I have a ways to go, but I’m really trying to listen to God’s voice and to take my direction from Him. I probably miss way more opportunities than I take, but that particular day, I think I got it right and I’m so thankful, that my friend listened as well and was able to share a positive outcome. Sharing the love of Christ through loving your neighbor is like tossing a pebble in a lake; you never know how far out the ripples will go. Let’s all toss in a pebble and see how much of a splash we can make today.

Have an awesome day.

Wendy 🙂

Children of Light

Posted on by Wendy
How can you be a light in someone's darkness?
How can you be a light in someone’s darkness?

I recently re-read the creation story. The thing that’s so cool about the Bible is that it speaks to you wherever you are in your faith walk, wherever you are in your life. When I read one of the books or stories  of the Bible and then wait a few years and read it again, it speaks to me in an entirely different way. It meets me where I am. How awesome is that? It’s like a Mona Lisa with words.

What jumped out at me this time I read it was God’s very first command. He had created the heavens and the earth and it was covered in darkness and God said, “Let there be light.” We all remember this story, but do you remember what scripture says next? He saw that the light was good. What does this tell us about the nature of God? God creates good things. He loves light; it made it to the top of the list and what He creates is inherently good.

If we skip forward to the New Testament, Paul tells us that “You are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 NLT  Jesus, himself said, “I am the light of the world; if you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. ” John 8:12 NLT

When I Googled the word light and the Bible, my search turned up 102 verses. God seems very concerned with light verses darkness. Guess what? Light wins every time. This notion gives me great hope. Life can be pretty dark at times. Sometimes it can be pitch black, but our faith can help us overcome the darkness. Have you ever been in a completely windowless room with no light at all coming in? If you haven’t I have an experiment for you. Step in a closet or somewhere totally dark. Stay there a couple of minutes and then turn on a tiny amount of light, like a small flashlight or a led candle. It’s amazing how that little amount of light can cut through the darkness.

So as children of light, how can we combat the darkness of our world? I think we begin by lighting our own way with prayer and worship and then we share our light with others. This is the really cool part where we get to use our individual gifts that God has given each of us. Yours may be a kind word or a smile. You may be able to invite someone to dinner at your house or to church or to a Bible study. You may be called to take someone a meal. You may be called to share light through your art or on Facebook. I feel like so many of us freeze when we are asked to share the love of Christ. We cringe when we think of those folks who run around quoting scripture and  we don’t want t be labeled “one of those people.” But, we need to remember that those people are following their calling which may be entirely different than yours and that’s okay. There are so many different ways to share light; the list is possibly endless. I think God designed it that way.

You are the only one who can share light in your own wonderful, unique way. How will you share it today? Ready, set, go!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Fences

Posted on by Wendy

My family has always had dogs. We love them and just can’t live without them. They make us happy. Because we have dogs, we have always had  a fence around the yard. Not only does the fence keep them in and safe from being run over by a car, it also keeps predators like coyotes out. Our fence also keeps deer from eating my hydrangeas and hostas. When you put work and money into growing something, you don’t want just anything coming along and destroying it, right?

Our current fence is a simple field fence. When we put it in, it was really plain and ugly, but over time, parts of it have been covered with honeysuckle vine that smells wonderful in the spring. Other parts have been covered with wild muscadine vine that produces very sweet, edible grapes in the fall. We didn’t plant these vines; they just grew. We can hardly see the fence itself anymore.

As I was checking out the fence the other day, it reminded me of the Bible in our lives. When we first start reading it, it can seem confining like a fence to keep us in. There are rules and things we as Christians, are not supposed to do. But if we keep reading it, we find that the rules are meant to keep us safe inside God’s plan and will for our lives and just as importantly, it keeps predators out, not just the really scary kind like coyotes, but the kind that seem gentle like deer, but still want to harm or destroy the good things we have planted. When we read the Bible regularly, the fence starts to fade and we no longer see it because it’s covered with the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Those are found in Galatians 5:22 if you want to look them up. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. What would the world look like if we all produced that kind of fruit? I think it has to start with reading the Bible. If we want to be at peace, live in joy, have patience with our kids, spouse, co-workers, neighbors, if we want to learn to be faithful in all that we do, if we want to learn self-control (this includes no extra piece of cake after 9:00, otherwise known as will power!), if we want to learn to be a gentler person or a kinder person or even a better person, the Bible is a great place to start.

I know, it’s easy to get bogged down and can be difficult to read, but try an updated version like the NLT or The Message. Try for just one chapter a day. Get a buddy to commit to read it with you. That’s what I do. Keep at it and watch the fruit grow!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Valley Times

Posted on by Wendy

My hubby and I teach a middle school Sunday school class. Yikes! Right? Our son is in the class, so it’s not quite as scary as it sounds. We were recently talking about Joseph. You remember him; the coat of many colors guy. As we were preparing the lesson, it struck me that this kid went through some really tough times. Yes, he was a bit of a brat in the beginning, but at 17 he was sold by his brothers and sent to a foreign land where he didn’t speak the language or know the customs. Then he was put in charge of a high official’s house. Things were looking up. He was comfortable and cared for, then the man’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. He did the “right thing” and turned her down. She falsely accused him of attacking her and he got thrown into prison. This guy couldn’t catch a break.

As I re-read the Joseph story, I thought of how often bad things seem to happen for no good reason. I thought about how sometimes when life is dark, we pray and pray for deliverance, but God doesn’t appear to be listening. He doesn’t get us a better job, or change our spouse, or change our financial situation; I’m sure you have your own blank to fill in here. The point is sometimes, when we are in a valley and we find ourselves praying diligently for a way out, God leaves us where we are, just like Joseph, but it turns out that he is listening. He throws us a lifeline.

In Genesis 39:2 NIV, it says, “The Lord was with Joseph so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” Then when he was in prison, “But the Lord was with Joseph in prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.” Genesis 40:21 NIV God didn’t rescue Joseph because he needed him to be right where he was. He didn’t remove him from the situation, but he helped him. He intervened.

Joseph was a piece in a huge puzzle of God’s making. He went on to save what was to become the entire nation of Israel from starving to death. He didn’t know it at the time and it couldn’t have been easy for him. Joseph’s story makes me re-evaluate my valley times. How do I do during these times? Do I pray and keep the faith? Do I get angry and give up? Do I feel sorry for myself? Do I feel that God has abandoned me?

In hindsight, I can see that I have never walked alone, even though it may have felt that way at the time. In the future, I pray that I can remember Joseph’s story and that the Lord is always with me, no matter where I am or what I am going through. How do you do in your valley times?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Life’s Seasons

Posted on by Wendy
The creek is beautiful in every season.
The creek is beautiful in every season.

I took a walk today and definitely felt the nip of fall in the air. I have already heard my daughter say “I can’t wait for fall.” Initially, I found myself agreeing with her. Then I started thinking about how we are always in a rush to get to the next season. You know what I’m talking about. When you are in middle school, you can’t wait to get to high school. When you are in high school, you can’t wait to get to college. When you are in college, you can’t wait to get out and get that first job. When we date, we can’t wait to get married; then we can’t wait to have a baby. The list is endless about how we like to rush life or try to speed up time.

Now there’s a difference between looking forward to the next season with optimism and missing out on the current one because we are obsessed with the next one. I have always struggled with this issue. I’m a planner and I love to plan all of my next steps. There’s a plaque I once saw that read, “We plan; God laughs.” I feel like whoever wrote it, had my name on it. I have learned that planning gives me a sense of control and therein lies the rub. I like to control my surroundings and my future.

God has a different plan. He says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 NIV  He says, ” For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV  Is he saying I need to stop worrying about what’s coming next and start enjoying the season I am in right now? Is he saying that he has his own plans for me? I believe that is exactly what he is saying. I think he’s saying, “I’ve got this. You just worry about doing what is in front of you today, in this season, in this moment.”

Well, that’s a load off, but focusing on today is easier said than done. So I am asking myself, what season am I in and I’m asking you, what season are you in? Is it one of growth? Is it one of rest? Maybe it’s a really tough season, a valley time. Maybe it’s an exciting time or a frightening time. Maybe it’s a bone crushing painful time. Whatever the season we are in, I think we should stop and take a deep breath, look around and recognize where we are. If it’s a happy season, give thanks for it; enjoy it. If it’s a painful or sad season, ask for continued strength and know that God is with you and no season lasts forever. If it’s a season of rest, savor it; because there may be mountains to climb up ahead.

Being still is difficult for me, but something I’m really working on. Living in the moment and appreciating this day without looking forward is also tough, but with God’s help, I’m learning. How are you doing with your current season? Think about it and then go enjoy the last blast of summer as fall edges in. It will be Christmas before you know it.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

You Really Do Have a Choice

Posted on by Wendy

Someone pulled out in front of me while I was driving my kids to school this morning. I mean like I had to slam on brakes to miss them. “Blow your horn!” my teenager said. I didn’t. I wanted to, but I didn’t. There was a time when I would have. I mean, the nerve of someone to pull out in front of me. How dare they! Didn’t they know I had children in the car with me? (They probably didn’t.) Didn’t they think about the consequences? There could have been an accident. Were they trying to kill me? (They probably weren’t.)

They most likely weren’t giving me or my kids a second thought. Their thoughtless act most likely had nothing to do with me. It had to do with their own self-focus. Huh? What I’m saying is, I believe that the vast majority of times when someone cuts me off in traffic or is rude to me at Wal-Mart, it is not personal. They aren’t being rude to me; they are just being rude. You are probably agreeing with me at this point. It’s perfectly logical. Right? But, here’s the catch.

If  I know that people who act rudely are doing so because of their own issues not mine, why should I give up my peace and get angry? I mean if I’m driving along in my car, minding my own business, singing along with the radio (oh yeah, I’m that girl :)) and someone cuts me off and makes me slam on brakes, should I give up my happy, give into anger, give them the finger and be angry the rest of the day? If  someone steals the parking spot at the mall that I was patiently waiting for with my blinker on, should I take it as a personal insult, seethe inside and ruin my trip? I say no. Happiness is a choice and anger is too.

I believe that the key here is to be less focused on myself. I need to remember to let the person who has offended me own their act and they can keep the negativity that comes from it. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to “Always be joyful.” If I get angry over inconsequential acts, then I am choosing to let someone steal my joy. Why would I want to do that? When we are walking around angry all of the time, we can’t let our light shine.

I’m working hard on this concept. I like to be treated the way I treat others and it sometimes just doesn’t work out that way. Still, I think holding on to joy is worth the struggle. Light is always better than dark. There seem to be a lot of angry people out there right now and the world is awfully dark. Let’s hold onto our personal peace and joy and not give into anger without a fight. Are you with me? How do you do with anger?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy