Month: September 2015

Crossing Our Jordan

Posted on by Wendy
When God calls us, He wants us to go all in.
When God calls us, He wants us to go all in.

A couple of nights ago, my hubby and I attended our small group get-together from church. We are watching a video about different places in the Holy Land that appear in the Bible. The narrator then ties them in to our modern life.

This time our video was about the Jordan River which appears several times in the Bible. The narrator explained that the Jordan flowed extremely quickly in Biblical days. It has now been dammed up to help supply water for the nation of Israel, but it used to flow fast and at times was very deep.

In the Book of Joshua, we find Joshua getting ready to at long last, lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. They had been wandering in the desert for forty years as punishment for doubting that God could deliver them. An entire generation had died.

But, in that time, God continued to feed them everyday. He provided for them in their time of wandering. Even in His anger, He didn’t abandon them. That is the nature of our God.

But, the moment of truth had arrived. God had told Joshua the time had come to cross over the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. The Jordan stood between their old lives of being lost and wandering and their new lives of what God had promised them.

But, I learned in the video, that the problem was that the Jordan was at flood stage. It was very deep and fast. The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, were commanded to walk into the Jordan. This wasn’t an easy, gentle slope. There was no wading in or dipping their proverbial toes in. If they were going to trust God, they had to go all in.

The story took on a little deeper meaning for me. Anyone can gradually wade into something, but taking the plunge is an entirely different matter. Thankfully, they didn’t hesitate. They plunged in and God stopped the water from flowing upstream.

Just like with the Red Sea, a generation earlier, He parted the waters, and the Israelites walked through on dry land. But, to get their miracle, just as Moses did with the Red Sea, God expected them to step out in faith.

God wasn’t interested in baby steps. He wanted fearless faith and when He got it, wow! He came through in a huge, miraculous way.

I’ve thought a lot about Joshua and the Jordan since I saw that video. What does the Biblical account have to do with us?

We all would love to see God move in big ways, but time after time in the Bible, we see that we have to step out in faith first, and quite often take a plunge, not wade in timidly. Fearless faith requires trust and obedience, two things that we often struggle with.

In the modern Western world, we like to plan everything and have contingencies. Jumping in without a backup is kind of frowned upon.

But, when God calls us, He says we should jump anyway, no matter how deep our Jordan may be. We should all remember, that we worship the God who stopped the Jordan at its source. He can always do it again.

What are you being called to do today? Take a leap and watch. Your Promised Land may be waiting on the other side.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

God and Football

Posted on by Wendy

Back in August, a little organization called Freedom from Religion, sent letters to UGA, Auburn, and South Carolina, demanding that they remove chaplains from their football teams. In the past, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Clemson got them too.

It was the same old separation of church and state argument that atheists love to present at any given opportunity. Auburn apparently responded rather quickly and among other things said something along the lines of: the U.S. Congress has a chaplain; we’re keeping ours. Way to go Auburn! (That’s likely the only time you will see those words written here.)

After the UGA vs. Vanderbilt game, there’s a picture on Twitter (pictured above), of the players actually kneeling together in prayer. It’s pretty powerful. Sure, they are rivals; but football is only a game. Faith is forever. I’m proud to be an alum of a school that encourages their players to show their faith.

Parents have lamented for years about the poor role models that sports figures present. Maybe if the pro players attended colleges that encouraged faith along with winning, professional athletes might behave differently.

Last Saturday, UGA played Southern University out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Late in the third quarter, one of their players, Devon Gales was injured. It didn’t look good when he went down. He wasn’t moving at all. I said a silent prayer for him as they carried him off the field on a stretcher, the kind that keeps you from moving.

I continued to pray for him and when I searched the internet, I discovered I wasn’t alone. Facebook had several shares from different sources asking for prayers.

I learned that Georgia’s head coach Mark Richt, a man very open about his faith in Jesus, had visited Gales at the hospital and was quoted as saying, “We’re trying to cover him up with as much love as we can and let him know that we care and that we’re here to help.”

But, that should come as no surprise. Richt is a Christian. Love is at the core of Christianity. A spokesman from Southern University said that Gales’ family and the entire Southern University family was extremely thankful for all of the prayers and support. Also, not shocking, is that the football chaplains have been very involved.

Yeah, the ones that the Freedom from Religion group wanted to remove. I wonder how Devon Gales and his family feel about those chaplains. I wonder of any member of that group would care to comment.

UGA players also took to Twitter with their prayers and well wishes for Devon. Seems God is alive and well in college football.

Football is a rough game where it’s very easy to get seriously injured. The wise coaches know that they need God. The wise players know that they need God.

Everyday life can be awfully rough too. Although, not as physically dangerous as football, it’s easy to get injured just the same. We need God. Our leaders need God. Because in the end, He’s really the only one who can save us.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Using the Right and the Left

Posted on by Wendy
Jesus wants your heart and mind.
Jesus wants your heart and mind. Just one, won’t do.

I love to sing in the choir. It’s like praying, but in a different way than just using words. I recently did a little research on music and how it affects the brain and I learned some fascinating things.

People who are not trained to read music, those of us who just love to belt out a song, primarily use our right brains. It’s a completely creative endeavor for us.

Trained musicians, on the other hand, use their left brains. Reading music is very technical. It’s a language of its own. But, the best musicians, the ones who are the most successful, the ones that we enjoy seeing perform, are the ones who can learn to engage both sides of their brains. They learn the technical, but they tie it in with the creative and emotional and that’s when a performance becomes pure magic.

Obviously, I couldn’t just get up there and use my musically untrained right brain to sing in the choir, if we didn’t have a trained and simply fabulous choir director. There’s no way we could have a choir without a trained musician or two. But, perhaps having the untrained, gives it an interesting slant.

I suspect that’s why praise music is so effective in contemporary worship services, especially for newer Christians. It’s just a few verses up on a wall. You don’t have to follow with your finger to keep up. It’s easy to be more worshipful and less technical.

If you have sung the hymns from the hymnal your entire life, I’ll bet a CAT scan would show that you use both sides of your brain, like the trained musician. Old hymns bring me comfort. I can belt them out like the newer ones and I know I’m not alone.

As I thought about how the brain works with music, I began to think about Christians. New Christians are often on fire for Jesus. They want to share the Good News with everyone they meet and their passion often proves to be very effective. Their message is emotional and completely from the heart. It’s more right brain dominated.

As our faith grows, we dig into the Bible and we learn more about God. We become more technical and here is where many of us stay. We can quote scripture. We attend worship regularly and volunteer. We go to, or maybe even lead a Bible study.

Like that trained musician, we can read the notes. We can dot our i’s and cross our t’s and that’s a good thing. We need to learn all we can and we need training in our faith. But, we also run the risk of being too legalistic, like those Pharisees back in Jesus’ day.

If we want to be effective, we also have to remember that Christianity is a faith of the heart. Jesus wants our minds and our hearts. Just one, won’t do.

When we ask the Holy Spirit to help us combine the two, we can become world changers.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Seemingly Insignificant

Posted on by Wendy
Building an authentic relationship with God requires praying about everything, not just the really big things.
Building an authentic relationship with God requires praying about everything, not just the really big things.

A lot gets said about not comparing ourselves to other people. We have no idea what other people have been through to get where they are. We are all God’s own unique creation and we should be focused on Him not them. Can I get an Amen?

When we think about comparing ourselves with other people, we normally think about people who we think have more and better anything, or everything, than we do. But, what about the flip side?

Sometimes I find myself grappling with a seemingly insignificant issue like one of my kids not passing algebra. It upsets me to see my child struggle, trying hard and still not passing. But, then I sometimes have a nagging feeling that says things like, “How dare you be concerned about something so trivial. There are children starving to death in this world, or at least your child is healthy; there are children dying of cancer, or, or, or.”

When I buy into that, I’m still comparing myself to others. That little nagging feeling doesn’t come from God because it separates me from Him. It makes me feel like my problems are too insignificant to take to Him. It makes me feel ashamed for not feeling thankful for all of the blessings that I have been given.

God doesn’t want us to feel badly about our emotions.

God wants true, authentic relationship with us. He doesn’t want us to just come to Him with a smile plastered on our faces and read off an automated list of the things we are thankful for. Yes, we are supposed to be thankful and live with thankful hearts, but we are human. We have bad days. We have everyday struggles. We get our feelings hurt.

God wants to hear about that stuff too. He knows our hearts anyway; to really grow our faith, we have to be honest with Him when we pray and if we are honestly worried or anxious about something, it doesn’t matter whether it seems insignificant to anyone else. We need to feel free to pray about it.

Can we expect God to answer a prayer if we’re not willing to share it with Him?

I’m reminded of an old hymn from my childhood that says it perfectly, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

I sometimes write to remind myself. Maybe you needed a reminder too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Be Still and Pray Even on Busy Days

Posted on by Wendy
One of God's greatest creations was the companionship of a dog.
One of God’s greatest creations was the companionship of a dog.

It had been a long day for me. I had been up late the night before waiting for my son’s bus to return from a band exhibition. I had been up since 5:00 AM. As I was driving home from work, I mentally ticked off my to-do list, which included a couple of loads of laundry and dinner, not to mention I could write my name in the dust on my dresser. I also reminded myself that I hadn’t exercised all week.

But, when I got home, instead of rushing around and starting on my chores, I decided to take a little quiet time and do some yoga and pray. I love to pray when I practice yoga. The quiet, intentional breathing seems to invite the Holy Spirit to join me.

I did some stretching and standing poses and then I got down on the floor. “Lord, please show me your face;” I prayed. “Let me feel your presence.”

I was still for a few minutes, something I struggle with some days. When I started on my Pilates moves, my dog Sandy, came peeping around the corner. I kept working and he continued to inch closer, so close that I had to either pet him or kick him.

Of course, I chose to pet him and then he was all over me. He flopped on his back, wagging his tail, greedy for attention and as if I made some kind of announcement, my little dog, Piper came bounding into the room and took full posession of my other hand.

The dogs were in ecstasy as I focused all of my attention on them, my little workout long forgotten. They had missed me. They didn’t care how busy I was or what was on my to-do list; they simply wanted my time and attention. I gave it to them freely and felt more relaxed than I had all day.

At that moment, I knew God had been listening. My dogs served as a reminder of unconditional love. They served as a reminder that all of the stuff I needed to do could wait. The relationships wouldn’t.

When I thought about my canine love fest later, I was reminded that God too, desires my daily time and attention. On my busiest days, He still wants me to make time for Him to read His word and to pray. He’s not very concerned with my to-do list.

On the days I get it wrong, I am given forgiveness and grace. On the days I get it right, something beautiful always happens. Today I was rewarded with wagging tails and doggie kisses. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Supernatural Christianity

Posted on by Wendy
As Christians, the supernatural really shouldn't surprise us.
As Christians, the supernatural really shouldn’t surprise us.

Last Sunday, I was sitting in church. The announcements had been made. The choir had sung. The scripture passage had been read. The sermon was next. As I was waiting, I felt a strong nudge to pray for my pastor. I don’t know why, but I did.

I said a quick, silent prayer for his peace, for his heart to be open to the Holy Spirit and that he would be able to deliver a message to inspire us all to reflect and share the Gospel with those outside our church.

The message was a good one about not comparing ourselves to others, even though it’s in our nature. It was about how we get super focused on the things of man, not the things of God. It was truth. I enjoyed it. I took notes.

Afterward, I was scurrying around trying to assist in getting our youth together and fed for our outing at a nearby corn maze. Most everyone had cleared out.

My pastor was still there and we chatted for a few minutes. Then he put his hand on my arm and leaned in and told me he wanted to thank me for praying for him that morning. I was silent for a moment, then I asked, “How did you know?”

He told me that he knew there were others praying too, but then he told me the precise moment when I had prayed.

Seems the Holy Spirit was super busy on Sunday, which is why I worship there. I can feel God there. There was a time on my faith journey when that conversation would have given me goose bumps and made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The supernatural has a way of making us uncomfortable. We don’t like what we can’t explain.

But, for a little over two years now, I’ve been writing almost daily, about God being present in the world around us. I look for Him everywhere and I see Him everywhere. I share that here in this space. I encourage others to do the same.

Honestly, the incident didn’t surprise me in the least, after the initial light bulb moment. Why would I be surprised to find the Holy Spirit active in a place of worship? Didn’t He appear the first time in Acts, when a group of believers were gathered in prayer?

Why would I be surprised to find the leader of my church in tune with and open to the Holy Spirit? Shouldn’t I expect him to be?

Christianity is all about the supernatural. We believe Jesus always walks with us even though we can’t see Him. We believe God hears our prayers. We believe in the resurrection. We believe in all types of miracles. We believe that Heaven awaits us after we finish this journey.

As we grow in our faith, shouldn’t the supernatural become our norm? Should we really be surprised when we see God at work? Just a thought.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Trust Without Borders

Posted on by Wendy
"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders."
“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders.”

One of my favorite songs is “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” by Hillsong United. It’s all about being called out and answering the call to do things we couldn’t possibly do on our own, but if we rely on God, we can. I especially like to play it on Sunday mornings when I’m getting ready to go to church.

That song reminds me of an interesting truth about our Christian walk. God often uses our gifts and talents to further His kingdom and we all too happily volunteer for things that we’re comfortable with. If organization is our gift, we are happy to volunteer to put things together for church. If hospitality is our gift, we are happy to meet and greet on Sunday mornings. If we are strong with numbers, we might help out with a fund-raiser budget. We are willing to use our strengths.

But, sometimes, there are very specific tasks that we want nothing to do with. For example, for some people, the idea of public speaking scares them senseless. For others, the idea of actually teaching others about Jesus, makes them very uncomfortable.

Yet, it seems as we grow closer to God and stronger in our faith, He becomes very intent on doing away with anything that frightens us. If something makes us hesitate, He often calls us to face it and sometimes in a big way. He seeks to root out fear, so that we no longer carry it. Think about Moses the stutterer. Oh, yeah, God called him to meet with Pharaoh repeatedly and then lead the Israelites out of captivity.

My hubby has never really been very keen on public speaking. He’s a great listener and fabulous one on one, or in a small group, but large groups have never been his thing. He’s always had a strong faith, but praying out loud and in public was also not in his wheel house.

For the past year, he’s been attending a men’s prayer group. He rarely misses and his faith has grown even stronger.

Last Sunday, when our pastor got ready to do the benediction, he said he was going to call on one of his prayer partners. I’m not sure why. He doesn’t normally do that. But, he then proceeded to call on my hubby to pray in front of the entire congregation. I felt him tense for a split second; then he bowed his head and prayed. He was completely relaxed.

God had been preparing him and my hubby let the Holy Spirit take over. He let God use him and in the process kicked a lifelong fear to the curb.

We talked about it later, how he didn’t even know what he prayed. But, God knew. That’s what God does.

He calls us out to do things that frighten us or make us uncomfortable, things that we can’t do without Him. When we obey, He shines through us in really big ways and our faith grows stronger.

But, He won’t force it. We have to be willing, and when we are, He’ll teach us to fly.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

P.S. I’ve included a link to that song. It’s good stuff!

 

Drawn to the Light

Posted on by Wendy
Perhaps we are drawn to light because we are drawn to God.
Perhaps we are drawn to light because we are drawn to God.

Yesterday, my hubby and I were talking to our middle school Sunday school class about Creation. When we try to teach kids about the nature of God, we always start with the Bible. Everyone seems to have their own image of what God is like or what God would do in this situation or that. But, if we want to see the true nature of God, we really have to start with His Word.

Genesis is such an amazing book. It’s quite the page turner; everything from Creation, to the fall of man, to the Flood, to Abraham, to Sodom and Gomorrah, to Joseph in Egypt. There’s so much that happens between God and man in that one chapter, the very first one.

But, what grabbed me yesterday as it does every time I read it, is in the very beginning of Genesis. In the very first chapter of Genesis, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:3-4

What does that tell us about God and His nature? Well, light is important to Him and what He creates is good. In the New Testament, many years later, the Apostle John wrote, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

Ever notice how humans seem to instinctively seek the light? We look for houses with lots of windows. When we get a warm, sunny day in early spring, we go outside in droves. We like to have fire pits in our yards and everyone loves to sit around a campfire whether it’s cold outside or not.

Perhaps we are drawn to the light because we are innately drawn to God, who is light. We may not know that we are drawn to Him, yet we are on an instinctual level.

Think about it. When we are in a dark room, we can talk ourselves into believing all kinds of evil may be lurking about. Isn’t it amazing how simply flipping a light switch can chase so many fears away? The light brings us comfort. When we turn it on, we realize that we had nothing to fear in the first place.

Why do you think that is?

God who is light, draws us to Him where we feel safe and loved. We matter so much to Him that He sent His son to light our way.

Speaking of light, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Jesus is like a flashlight for us with batteries that never die. He lights our way on every single path that we walk, no matter how dark or scary. When we follow Him, we never walk alone and we never walk in darkness.

Sounds, pretty good, doesn’t it?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Appreciating the Ordinary

Posted on by Wendy
Beautiful days, friends, and family are wonderful reasons to give thanks.
Beautiful days, friends, and family are wonderful reasons to give thanks.

As I was walking my parents’ dogs yesterday, in the incredibly beautiful weather that we have been blessed with recently, I found myself saying a prayer of thanks for my perfectly mundane day. I had gone for a haircut that morning, nothing like a little trim to add a little pep to a girl’s step. I had coffee and a two hour visit with a dear friend of mine and we got caught up. Finally, I ran to the grocery store.

I hadn’t really done much on my to-do list for the day, but I found myself with a profound sense of peace as I thanked God that I had hair to cut. Some people don’t, and money to pay for it. Some people don’t.

I thanked God for my friend. Some people don’t have any.

I thanked God for the ability to go and buy groceries. Some people can’t.

We all have great days, when we are on top of the world, like the day we got married, or the day we graduated from high school or college, or the day we held our first child. Those days are glorious days. We take photos to remember them and we sometimes replay them in our heads, moment by moment. Remembering them brings us joy.

We all have really bad days too, like the day we got fired, or the day we learned of a scary medical diagnosis, or the day we buried a loved one. Those days too, are often etched in our memories.

When times are good, we often find ourselves praying and giving thanks for our good fortunes or blessings.

When times are bad, we often find ourselves praying for healing, peace, strength or guidance.

But, when I think about my life and all of the great moments and all of the really bad, I’ll have to admit that most of my days are filled with the in-between stuff. Most of my days aren’t perfect and fabulous, but they aren’t painful and sad either.

Most of my days are filled with ordinary things like making breakfast for my kids, and doing the laundry, and sweeping floors, and watching television with my hubby. While those things seem so ordinary at first glance, a closer look reveals something else.

Ask someone who has lost a child what they would give to make breakfast for them again. Ask someone who has lost their home to a fire what they would give to be able to do laundry again. Ask someone who is homeless what they would give to have floors to sweep. Ask a recent widow what she would give to watch television with her husband one more time.

We often forget to give thanks for the everyday blessings we have, and most have of us have many, because they just seem so ordinary. We can sometimes take them for granted. But, I think a closer look shows that the ordinary is actually quite extraordinary.

That notion really hit me hard as I was walking those little dogs and giving thanks. I think I needed a reminder.

Maybe you did too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Finding God in the Chaos

Posted on by Wendy
When we seek Him, we will find Him.
When we seek Him, we will find Him.

Yesterday was a crazy morning at my house. I had to be at the school for a half-day assignment and I desperately wanted to write my post before I left for work. I like to write in the mornings. It’s quiet and I have the time and peace to reflect. I need quiet to write. I often find inspiration in nature, when I take walks or even outside my window. My desk is surrounded by big windows with lots of light.

Well, yesterday morning, my neighbors were having some trees removed from the yard. My dogs went crazy, barking at all of the trucks in the cul-de-sac. Every time they heard a strange noise, they would bark. I am also dog sitting for my parents’ little yappers, so the barking was in stereo.

After begging them and commanding them to stop barking, (yeah right!), I went through the house and pinned all of the curtains closed with clothes pins. They could no longer see the workmen. But, they could still hear, so they continued to bark. I turned on the radio for noise and chuckled a little at myself for having to work so hard to outsmart dogs.

But, at last, they settled down. But, where would I get my inspiration? My house was dark. I had no natural night coming in. The radio was blaring noise. Where would I find my quiet space? How could I hear God?

I’ll have to admit that I was a tad frustrated at this point. I mean, all I wanted to do is light my little light shine. Should it be so hard?

I escaped to my upstairs bathroom to do some yoga stretches and search for some peace. I have a large window in there.

I prayed for God to show Himself in my morning chaos and lo and behold, there He was in a bright pink impatien. I know those flowers are very common, but let me give you a little background. First of all, I didn’t plant any this year and when I did plant them in that planter, I always planted white ones. It’s Fall. It’s time for petunias and mums in orange, yellow and burgundy.

But, here, in mid-September, God gave me a bright pink impatient. I smiled as soon as it caught my eye. Where could I find God in the chaos? I found Him in the place where I got still and quiet and purposefully sought Him.

The Bible says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

It’s easy to forget. We convince ourselves that we have to have the perfect time, or perfect place, or perfect circumstances, to seek God, to seek a real relationship. We can come up with some pretty good excuses for not seeking Him.

But, in the end, when we open our hearts and reach out, He’s always ready to reach back. Sometimes He will even send a flower.

I needed a reminder today. Maybe you did too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂