Category: Trusting God

Sometimes life seems upside-down. When we draw closer to God, we begin to learn and trust that He has a plan for us and we can let go of many of life’s anxieties knowing that He has our best interest at heart.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on by Wendy
Patrick used familiar surroundings to share the Gospel.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. I really like this holiday. There’s no pressure to buy anything. Everyone just wears green and celebrates our supposedly, Irish roots, while looking for leprechauns. But, St. Patrick’s Day has an interesting past which is actually God centered.

It’s all a little cloudy because it happened so long ago, somewhere between 400-600 A.D. Legend has it that Patrick was born to wealthy parents in England and was captured at some point in his mid teens by Irish raiders. He was taken to Ireland and sent off to be a slave tending sheep. (Isn’t it interesting that sheep were involved?)

He was very afraid and lonely and began praying all of the time. (Can you relate?)

After six years in captivity, God told him in a dream, it was time to go home and so he began walking. He walked nearly 200 miles before he was saved by friendly sailors. (Can you imagine walking 200 miles and not getting discouraged or giving up?)

While he was in Ireland, he learned their customs and language. It is said that some time after he returned home, an angel told him in a dream, to return to Ireland as a missionary and preach the Gospel to them. (I can’t imagine the wrestling that must have ensued.)

After studying for 15 years, Patrick obeyed God and returned to Ireland. The Irish were mostly pagan and Druid, but there were some Christians there. Since he knew their customs, he knew that the shamrock was a sacred plant to them. He used the three-leaf clover to explain the trinity to them.

He knew that they used fire to honor their gods so he used bonfires to celebrate Easter. He also used the sun which was a powerful Irish symbol, and superimposed it on the cross to create the Celtic cross.

Patrick would have never been able to communicate with the Irish in such an effective and powerful way if he hadn’t endured the six years in captivity there. (When times are the toughest, it’s hard to see God is building something amazing, but He often is.)

At the end of his life, Patrick had helped to start over 300 churches and baptized over 120,000 Irish people. He preached in Ireland for over forty years and died on March 17th.

He is credited with at least thirty-three miracles including many counts of healing as well as several resurrection stories. He is not credited for driving snakes out of Ireland. There never were any there, but he is credited in turning almost an entire nation to Christ.

Looks like he did actually drive a snake out.

Patrick’s story inspires me. Perhaps you needed some inspiration today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

 

 

Walking by Faith

Posted on by Wendy
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

On Sunday morning, my hubby gently tapped me and informed me that we had missed springing forward for daylight savings time. We have never done that before, but interestingly enough, I wasn’t filled with the need to rush.

I had actually been dreaming about the song we were singing that morning in the choir. It was titled, “Walk by Faith,” and I could ‘t wait to sing it. We sing quite a few songs that really do nothing for revving up my soul, but Sunday’s did and I didn’t want to miss it.

On Sunday mornings, I give myself almost two hours to get ready. I like to sit down with a cup of coffee and breakfast and read a devotional. I like to play praise music as I get dressed. I like to take time to pray. I make it a point to try to prepare my heart for worship before I leave my house.

I learned this practice quite a few years back. I have often believed that for families of faith, Satan’s busiest time is Sunday mornings when we are trying to ready our families for church. When we are raising littles, Sunday mornings are often filled with rushing that ends up producing anxiety and frustration, which leads to raised voices and sometimes tears. The teen years can prove to be just as stressful. By the time we arrive at church we are so upset, we miss the entire message, the blessings, and the ability to bless others.

To combat the Sunday morning stress, I began getting up much earlier than I had to, so I could be open and ready for what God had to share.

So, as I awoke on Sunday, I was behind the proverbial eight ball. As I dashed for the shower, I couldn’t help but marvel that the song, “Walk by Faith,” kept running through my head. One of the lines in particular, was “we walk by faith and not by sight.”

I said a prayer. I acknowledged that the God who I worship, called the Universe into being. I acknowledged that the God I worship, fed five thousand people with a couple of fish and five loaves of bread. Surely, my God could get me to choir practice in a timely matter, while allowing me the peace to truly worship Him. I asked for His intervention.

My hubby had a cup of coffee waiting for me on the counter. I thanked God for that blessing as I calmly got ready. I ate a quick breakfast. I didn’t dawdle, but I didn’t rush either.

Practice is usually at 9:15, but that morning it had been pushed back to 9:00. After waking up an hour late, I walked into church right at 9:15 to find that they hadn’t even started. I wasn’t even late.

I had lived the anthem that morning. I had walked by faith and God delivered, but in the end, He always does.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Blooming Where We Are

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we need to remember that our mission field is right where we are.

Yesterday, when I arrived home from work, I grabbed a chair and collapsed onto my deck. I sat in the warmth of the March sunshine, listened to the birds and tried to breathe deeply. It had been a long day and a long week and I still had another day to go.

Nothing bad had happened; in fact I had received some really good news earlier in the week. But, my job had been crazy busy, with a million interruptions and I was just bone tired.

I looked across the yard at my white irises blooming. They always make me smile. My hubby and I dug them up years ago, from an old home place on my parents property. I have no idea how old they are, at least sixty, but likely much older than that. We planted them at the base of one of our oak trees and they multiplied like crazy. We now have them at the base of two trees and several other places in the yard.

They didn’t ask to be moved from their home in Middle Georgia to their home in Northeast Georgia. Yet, they just seem to grow and prosper wherever we plant them.

Those white flowers made me think of a conversation I had earlier in the week with a coworker who reminded me that I have been put in my particular place, at this particular time, for a reason that had noting to do with my job description.

We forget sometimes that we can do kingdom work wherever we are planted. It doesn’t matter what the job description is on paper. We can be a construction worker, a waitress, or a CEO of a company. Our job titles make no difference to Jesus. The spiritual work we are called to do can shine through, wherever we are.

Our mission field is always the ground we are standing on, whether we asked to be there or not, whether it’s difficult or easy. Those irises reminded me to bloom and prosper wherever I am planted, knowing that at some point, I may be scooped up and planted somewhere else, but that I am not to worry about that. I am called to trust God’s plan.

I am called to bloom today in this spot, right where I am, and so are you. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

A Call to Actively Seek

Posted on by Wendy
The same God who called the universe into being, called the tiniest of flowers into being too.

Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One, is though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”

Those are wise and deep words spoken by one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. It’s interesting to me that so often, Christians are criticized for our faith because we believe in what we can’t see, yet one of the smartest men who ever lived, believed in God and miracles.

Most of us will acknowledge the big miracles that we often find ourselves praying for, the healing, the deliverance, the redemption, but what about the smaller ones that we so often miss?

What about that friendship that helped us through a really rough time? Do we openly acknowledge that God was planting those seeds of friendship all along because He knew how important they would be down the road?

What about the stray dog or cat that just happens to cross our paths at the right time and ends up being a beloved member of the family who brings endless joy to our lives? Do we acknowledge that God actively put His creature in our path?

What about the job offer that comes out of the blue that feeds your family and your heart?

What about an unexpected call or encounter with an old friend that lifts your spirits?

Are all of those scenarios simply coincidence or is something Divine going on?

What if we all were to actively seek the everyday miracles in our daily lives? What if we were to ask God to show us where He is working, remembering that the God who called the universe into being, also called the daffodils into being.

It’s easy to see Him in the glory of a sunrise, but He’s also in the gentle butterfly. Our chaotic, busy lives, often leave little room for wonder or for seeking. We prefer a God who would speak to us in burning bush moments and huge gestures. He certainly can and sometimes He does.

But, if we honestly seek Him, knowing that He is involved in our lives, we can find Him in the quiet and in the small, making the active choice to live our lives as if everything is a miracle.

A quote from Albert Einstein reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Light After the Darkness

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes we get to see something amazing after the dark times.

The Bible study that my hubby and I attend, recently focused on the temptation of Jesus, out in the wilderness, found in Matthew. There are certain aspects of that account, that always jump out at me.

One is that Satan doesn’t even go after Jesus until He’s at His weakest, nothing to eat for forty days. I mean, let’s face it, most of us get cranky when we have to do fasting blood work. The first thing he tries to get Jesus to do is to turn rocks into bread and alleviate His suffering.

I think that scenario is true for many of us. We are often not tempted to sin when everything is going well, but when we are tired, in pain, lonely, or desperate for relief, that’s when we can become targets. I always find the temptation story an important reminder that Jesus, Himself was tempted, so He gets it when we are too. But, that’s also when we can cling tightly to, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

My pastor put a new angle on the account that I hadn’t thought of before. He pointed out that the angels didn’t appear to help, that the supernatural didn’t enter into the fray, until Jesus resisted the temptation on His own. We don’t find the angels attending to Him until He tells the devil, “no.”

My pastor asked us if we had ever found ourselves in a dark situation and wondered if God was really there. Was God really listening? Did He even care?

These questions gave me some serious food for thought.

I can say in my own faith walk that there have been times when God has seemed silent, times when I desperately wanted answers and none seemed to come.

As I look back on those times, I can see that God used them to grow my faith. Do we believe that God is at work when all seems lost? Do we believe that He walks with us when we are at our lowest? Do we believe that He’s present when we see no evidence of it?

When we can answer that question with a yes, our faith grows, which is what it is supposed to do. We can tell our children all day long that they can ride a bike without training wheels, but at some point, we have to let go so they can see for themselves. After they complete that ride, we celebrate with them with some major pride and joy.

Maybe our faith walk is the same. Maybe from time-to-time, God lets go so that we can see how much He has taught us and how much we have grown.  Like any good father, He’s close by and afterwards, He celebrates with us and shows us something new and special that we couldn’t have possibly understood or appreciated  without the struggle.

That little nugget just happened to be something I needed to wrap my heart and mind around. Perhaps you needed to as well.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Gideon Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
The light still defeats the darkness.

Last Sunday, my pastor told Gideon’s story. It’s found in Judges 6-8. It picks up where once again, Israel had turned their backs on God, and once again, tragedy had befallen them. The Midianites were stealing their crops every year and killing their cattle, leaving them to starve.

Once again, when things got bad enough, Israel realized they had been wrong and Israel turned back to God. He heard them and decided to save them.

Does this pattern sound familiar?

He decided to use a man named Gideon. It’s a fascinating story, but Gideon basically did not feel that he was in any way capable of defeating his enemy. God assured him he was because God was with him. Gideon asked for some signs and God gave him every one he asked for.

Finally, Gideon decided that he would comply with God’s plan and he gathered his clan. He began with 32,000 men. God said that was too many and 10,000 were sent home. Then God did another sifting that eventually left Gideon with 300 men.

In the beginning, Gideon was too afraid to even agree. I can’t imagine what he must have thought when 32,000 men dwindled down to 300, but God knew and He wanted to be sure Israel knew that they would not win this battle on their own.

When the time came, the Bible says that the enemy was thick as locusts and the camels could no more be counted than sand on the seashore.

To make the battle even more amazing, God didn’t even send them with swords. He sent them with trumpets and jars with torches in them. When Gideon gave the command, they blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. The light and the power of God, sent the enemy running.

That’s all it took.

God has never required the assistance of mankind to achieve the miraculous.  When He does choose to use humanity, it’s rarely thousands of the strongest. No, it’s more often the weakest and most humble and always the obedient, who are willing to trust and step out in faith.

Gideon was afraid, but he trusted God and he was rewarded in a huge way.

We still have the ability to defeat all kinds of evil and darkness with the light of Christ. When we think about all of the things and situations that we fear, and what God may be calling us to do, perhaps we should ask ourselves if it’s a more dire situation than Gideon’s, or David’s, or Elijah’s?

Roman’s 8:15 says, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

We don’t worship a God. We worship The God. The Holy Spirit isn’t a spirit, He’s The Spirit. Because of Jesus, we can call God, Abba, which translates to something like “Daddy.” That makes Him intimate and close to us, with us, not distant and far away.

What more reassurance can we possibly need? Gideon’s story reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Comfort Zone Rut

Posted on by Wendy
When we say yes to Jesus, all kinds of beautiful things can occur.

As we plow into January, many of us are taking time to do a little self-reflection and try to address any ruts we may find ourselves. I’m a gal who loves a routine. I love my comfort zones. I mean, the name alone, has the word comfort in it. But, sometimes our comfort zone can become a rut.

A rut is something we may find ourselves in because we have done it for so long, we don’t necessarily know how to get out. Sometimes we don’t even want to get out.

There are times when we do things like eat the same exact meals week after week, that we don’t even realize that we have lost our passion for cooking or for tasting some of the really great foods God has blessed us with.

There are times when we have become comfortable sitting in front of the television night after night, kind of checking out, when we could be reading a good book, or meeting friends for dinner, or actually having a conversation with our families. We could even do something crazy like play a card game or a board game.

My mama actually inspired me right before Christmas. She took a trip to the Canadian Rockies. Now keep in mind, that this woman has always loathed the cold. When we had the rare snow day when I was growing up, she watched from a window inside the house. She’s always been more of a beach gal.

But, a friend of hers convinced her to go. She bought all of the necessary gear and she second-guessed herself all of the way. The trip was too close to Christmas and she had so much to do. What was she thinking?

But, ultimately, she went and she had a blast. She told me without a doubt, it was the prettiest place she had ever been in her entire life. Sure, it was cold, but it was well worth it. She was so thankful that she said yes, to a new adventure.

There are all types of comfort zones, ruts and adventures. Some adventure may take us some place far away and exotic and some may keep us closer to home. There are also spiritual adventures.

Spiritual adventures occur when we decide to open our hearts up to God’s calling for us. Is He calling you to read the Bible more regularly? Is He calling you to get involved in Christian community? Is He calling you to reach out to others in some way? Is He calling you to pick something up? Is He calling you to lay something down? He could be calling you to heal.

All of those spiritual endeavors can be a little scary. It would certainly be easier to stay right where we are. But, following Jesus was never meant to be the easy route. However, following Jesus was never meant to be boring either.

My mama’s trip reminded me that it’s good to take stock from time-to-time on where we are and where we would like to be. It reminded me to search for the beautiful at every opportunity and to not be afraid of adventure. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Living In Divine Peace

Posted on by Wendy
Peace like a river comes from trusting God.

Last week, our Advent focus was supposed to be on peace. I thought about it. I prayed about it. I even wrote about it and then God gave me the opportunity to live it.

My car has had some sort of break issue going on, and last week, we got it into the shop. It turned out to be a fairly big issue that was covered under the extended warranty. We took it in very early on Wednesday morning, expecting to get it back that afternoon. Well, a one day repair, turned into three.

The entire week, I stayed calm and not really even frustrated. I chose to see it as a minor inconvenience. My hubby dropped me off at work and picked me up. My daughter drove herself and her brother to school, no biggie. I reasoned that there are many families who only have one car and I counted my blessings.

On Friday, we finally got my car back. My hubby was driving and was so impressed about how the brakes finally felt right, not spongy. (I hadn’t known there was a problem to begin with.) Our family ate dinner out Friday night and ran several errands.

On Saturday, my hubby and I went to Home Depot, and then did some Christmas shopping, and then went to Sam’s for a big grocery run. There was traffic everywhere. The roads were packed. On our way back home, with no notice, the brakes began acting weird; there was a burning smell; a warning light came on, on the dashboard as we turned out of the traffic and onto a much quieter street. Just as we coasted safely into a right turn lane, the brakes locked up completely.

My hubby and I looked at each other wide-eyed. The brake pedal was completely stiff. We had no brakes. I grabbed the manual to search for the meaning of the dashboard warning lights.

I found the message that accompanied the bright yellow triangle- shaped light and gulped. It read: “Warning- you CAN be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you don’t follow instructions.”

We collected our thoughts for a moment and called a tow truck to tow our car back to the mechanic. We then called our teenager, who came and loaded up a car full of groceries into her little bitty Civic.

Never once did I lose my peace. We were safe. Our groceries and Christmas gifts were safe.

As I thought about it later that day, I was also filled with a sense of gratitude and awe. Those brakes locked up at the perfect time and there’s no way that was a coincidence. Had it been 10 minutes earlier, we would have been in crazy traffic. We could have been seriously hurt or worse. Had it been the night before, we were also in bad traffic, but it was 27 degrees and my daughter was in the car with us so she couldn’t have rescued us or our groceries, from the side of the road.

It occurres to me that the peace that comes from knowing Jesus is tied very closely with trusting God and watching for Him, because He shows Himself all of the time. I’ve no doubt that He held us tightly in His hand on Saturday and delivered us safely back to our home. The peace that comes from that knowledge is priceless.

Whatever it is that we struggle with, God has under control. He’s always working and usually, if we look closely, we can see Him.

Some car trouble this weekend reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Embracing the Wonderful

Posted on by Wendy
What we choose to focus on in life, is a choice.
What we choose to focus on in life, is a choice.

I had the opportunity to watch the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” over the weekend. It’s my daughter’s favorite Christmas movie and perhaps one of the best movies ever made. As usual, she and I were crying like babies at the final scene.

She commented during the movie, that the only thing she doesn’t like about it, is we never get to see the villain, Mr. Potter, get what’s coming to him. I completely understand her point. Although he’s mean-spirited throughout the film, towards the end, he’s a criminal. He takes money that isn’t his and then tries to have George Bailey arrested.

Most of us know by heart, the verse from Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” We want to see Potter get justice.

We love the idea of good always winning, but in the movie, good does win, just not in the way George Bailey had in mind.

Every time Mr. Potter tried to knock George down, something good came of it. When he insisted that George not see the world and stay home to run the family business, George married the love of his life. When he tried to put George out of business when there was a run on the bank, George used his own hard earned money to convince people not to panic and keep the doors of the savings and loan open.

That selfless act planted seeds of mercy and compassion in the hearts of  the townspeople that would sprout much later in the movie when he desperately needed them.

And when George’s hour was the darkest, Mr. Potter kicked him one more time and he decided to take his own life. Meanwhile, the entire town prayed for him. God listened and sent an angel and George decided he wanted to live even if he was going to jail for a crime he did not commit.

But, there was more intervention going on too. (There always is.)  All of those kindnesses and mercies that George had been spreading for all of those years sprouted that night and just about everyone in town showed up at his house on Christmas Eve, with money to donate to replace what was stolen.

While we didn’t get to see Mr. Potter get his, it never was about Potter anyway. The story was about George. The story was about him doing the right thing, even though things never went like he planned or wanted them to go. The story was about him learning to embrace the life that he was given and the people who God entrusted to him.

His story is our story. Very often in life, things do not go like we plan and all Christians have a common enemy who likes to knock us down. But, if we keep our eyes focused on God and not our own Mr. Potter, and continue to sow seeds of kindness, mercy and love, they will eventually sprout, just as George’s did. God will grow something beautiful with all of our perceived failures and weaknesses if we allow Him to.

Who knows, He may send us angels too; the Bible tells us we may have even entertained them and not know it. There’s a lot of negativity to focus on in life. There always is; but focusing on God and all of the good He gives us, is a choice, one we are free to make.

George Bailey reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

December Reflections

Posted on by Wendy
Perhaps the best gift we can give this season is prayer.
Perhaps the best gift we can give this season is prayer.

Today is the first day of December. The Christmas season is well underway. I’m hearing Christmas songs playing on the radio. I’m seeing houses decorated with lights. I’m seeing cars, with trees strapped to the top. That always makes me smile.

I have seen a huge board outside our cafeteria, full of wishes of children for Christmas, in our Secret Santa program. There is everything from socks to bicycles on that board and all kinds of things in between. I saw many parents take an item at our Thanksgiving feast and then when an e-mail went out appealing for help with all that remained, I saw some of those same parents come and pick another item.

I have seen amazing generosity at the school I am blessed to work in. I have seen God at work in this season.

I have also seen an incredible amount of tragedy this season. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is in ruins. A wild fire burned a huge portion of it. Many people lost their homes and some even lost their lives. But, I also saw the rain all Southerners had been desperately hoping and praying for that eventually helped to control those mountain fires.

I find it kind of interesting that while a good portion of the fires blazing in the Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina mountains appear to be man-made; it took the power of God to finally get the best of them.

In my own little town, there have been two families who lost a father within a week of each other and another family who lost a daughter. When a co-worker came by my desk with a post it note to ask me to pray for one of those families, I could see God at work. When my pastor’s wife asked me to pray for another, I could see God at work and when a brand new Facebook friend, asked for prayers for the third family, I could again, see God at work.

We live in a broken world on this side of Heaven. There’s sickness, and death, and tragedy here. There are wild fires that sometimes burn out of control. But, there’s beauty here too, and generosity that sometimes brings me to tears. Sure, there’s plenty of hate, but there’s more love and love trumps hate every time.

As I think about the celebration of the birth of our Savior, I find myself wondering if this season isn’t perhaps a season that the enemy seeks to attack us the most. The birth of Christ was really the official beginning of Satan’s demise and since deception and destruction are his mantra, wouldn’t he use this time to target believers?

I feel a deep urge to pray in this season, to pray for the people of Tennessee, and the people who are struggling with sickness, and the people who are struggling financially, and for the people who are mourning.

I pray that those who feel lost and alone, will find the comforting arms of Jesus. Maybe this season, what our country needs more than anything, is some prayer warriors, people who are willing to stand in the gaps for people who are too weary to pray for themselves. It’s possible that in this moment in time, it’s our opportunity to, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

Perhaps you would like to join me.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂