Category: Watching for God

God is all around us. All we have to do is look for Him. If we seek Him, we will find Him at times in the most unlikely places.

One Nation Under God

Posted on by Wendy
May we never forget who really protects us.

Today is the 16th anniversary of 911, or as we now call it Patriot’s Day. It’s almost impossible to believe that it’s been sixteen years since that horrific day. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I got the news.

I’ll bet you do too.

I remember rocking my three-month-old baby to sleep that night with tears sliding down my face and wondering what this world had come to. I remember wondering how it was possible for, that degree of hate to exist in so many people.

I remember praying, a lot.

I remember picking up my Bible and actively getting more involved in my church.

That single event in American history brought many Americans back to God. People who hadn’t been to church in years, returned. People who had never been to church decided to actively seek God.

A divided country came together. No one saw political parties. No one saw color. We were simply all Americans, and for the majority of us, one nation under God. It became very PC to fly our flag again.

It’s amazing what can happen in sixteen years. We can become complacent. We can become divided. We can even convince ourselves that we are completely self-sufficient and don’t need God. We would be wrong.

As I write this, Hurricane Irma is ravaging the state of Florida. The entire state of Georgia has been placed under a state of emergency. Our area schools are cancelled in preparation for the very heavy rains and winds that are expected. South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama are also in the path in one way or another.

The folks in Texas are still reeling from Hurricane Harvey.

I don’t know whether it’s a total coincidence that all of this is happening on 911 or not. As a woman of faith, I’ve come to learn that there are rarely coincidences.

Sixteen years ago, as a nation, we mourned the horrific loss of thousands of innocent lives and we turned our focus back to God. As we remember those people today and contemplate the natural disasters whirling around us, may we once again be convicted to do the same. May we become a nation of the prayer warriors that we are called to be.

May we once again proudly be, One Nation Under God.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Keep Planting

Posted on by Wendy
Never stop planting. You never know when the seeds will sprout.

When I arrived at church on Sunday, one of our praise team leaders asked me if I would be willing to help him with something. This guy is amazingly talented. He said he wanted to get a bunch of people to help with the praise and worship song and he wondered if I knew it. It was called, “Uncloudy Day.”

Oh yeah, I knew it. In the years that I attended a small, country church that was at the end of a dirt road, we sang it often. I had many fond memories of the music at that church and I readily agreed.

Right after choir practice, our pastor’s wife asked if the choir would be willing to help her. A man that we had been praying for, is in a rehabilitation facility for a spinal injury. He’s a man of deep faith. He had a really tough night, the night before and asked if we would be willing to sing the hymn, “Victory in Jesus,” for him to be videoed and sent to raise his spirits. We all readily agreed.

Once again, my mind recalled that small childhood church, where we sang that hymn often.

I wonder if my mama could have possibly known that over thirty years later, because she took me to church, that I was able to participate in the singing of two different songs at a completely different church, in a completely different town than I grew up in. I wonder if she could have possibly conceived that her obedience to God in raising her children to know Him, would allow her child to one day join with others to sing songs of praise to lift up a struggling brother in Christ and help him with his struggle.

We sometimes forget that parenting is Kingdom Work. When we fight to get our kids to church and wonder if it’s worth it, when we fight for that family meal when we can say grace and eat together, when we see our adult children stray off the path that we have taught them and wonder where we went wrong, let me assure you, God is there.

Yes, it’s worth it. As parents, we are called to be obedient to God and teach our children about Jesus. We are simply seed planters and let’s face it, not all of them will sprout. But, the good news is, that over a lifetime, we have the opportunity to plant thousands and at some point, they will not only sprout, but grow deep roots, because we have a God who is in the growing business and His abilities are limitless.

Two old hymns reminded me that we should always keep planting. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Praying for Texas

Posted on by Wendy
This picture was too good not to share.

Last weekend, Hurricane Harvey, one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history, came ashore in Texas. The destruction has been devastating. It’s almost impossible to fathom what some of those Harvey victims have been through, yet the Texans’ response to the disaster may have the power to unite us all.

Texas is a notoriously red state and has always done things a little differently than the other forty-nine states, something most Texans are proud of. Houston, one of the hardest hit regions of the state, is a spot of blue, with a mayor who is a democrat.

In the political climate that we have been living in since the last election, one would expect that Texans would be at each other’s throats, blaming each other and the federal government for their woes. If you would have watched a newscast a week earlier, you might have thought that Texans would use this opportunity to show what racists they truly are.

The media would have us believe that we are so divided as a country that all the we care about these days is fighting with each other. We are divided on religion, politics and race. We are divided on whether old statues should stand or be torn down. The casual observer would think that there’s very little great about America anymore, that we care more about our personal opinions and feelings than anything else.

Yet, when an unimaginable disaster struck, the state of Texas became a shining light of hope for all Americans. No one has shown the slightest concern over skin color or political affiliation. What they have shown is an unending supply of compassion for each other. People have turned out in everything from fishing boats, to canoes, to kayaks and dune buggies. Their desire to help one another has been nothing short of amazing.

In Dallas, people waited in line over half an hour just to donate supplies to the victims, people they would never even meet.

The pictures being shared on social media make me both sad and proud. There’s even a “Pray for Texas” banner on Facebook. Turns out we can use social media for God’s purposes as well as destructive purposes.

And the Texans’ response to their disaster has inspired the rest of the country to act as well. My tiny little town in Georgia, is sending a truck load of supplies and most of the rest of the country is acting as well.

There’s an old song that goes, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” It seems to me that Hurricane Harvey has started a fire no one could have dreamed of, but I pray that it spreads. I pray it encourages all Americans to do the right thing and help one another, to stop spreading hate on social media and start spreading prayer.

Who knows? This country could have a great revival. Let’s all pray for Texas and watch what happens.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Blessed Relationships

Posted on by Wendy
Relationships built on Christ will always find a way to bless us.

I have a dear friend, Bill, who always says that relationships that are built in Christ are different from any other relationships. He says that they tend to grow stronger over time and can weather distance and separation simply because they are blessed by God.

Last Sunday morning, I was saying a prayer for my daughter. She’s away at school and this mama was missing her terribly. I prayed that God would bless her and her roommates and that she would have a productive and happy day.

Right before my church service started, I received a text that she and her roommates were attending a church service. I can’t say how happy that made me. I knew that they are all a little homesick at this point and there are few ways to find peace better than worshiping God.

I said a prayer of thanks.

When I was leaving church, a friend of mine who was also my daughter’s Sunday school teacher at one point, asked me for her address. She wanted to send her a treat to school. My heart was once again, filled with gratitude.

When I returned home and sat down at my computer, I had received a message on Facebook, from a sweet lady who we used to attend church with. She and her hubby had retired and moved away. My kids always loved seeing them at church each week. We were sad to see them go. She just wanted me to know that they had relocated to the same town where my daughter is attending college. She wanted to me to give her, her cell phone number in case she ever needs anything.

I read the message with tears in my eyes.

I had been feeling low. I decided to pray about it. Not only did God respond, He did so in a way that used people He had planted in our lives all along our faith journey.

He did so in a way that I couldn’t possibly miss. He reminded me that He’s always there, no matter how far away He may seem. He reminded me that He’s always in control. He reminded me that my friend Bill is right.

The relationships that God plants, will always find a way to bless us.

Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Eclipse Musings

Posted on by Wendy
God is light.

Working at a local elementary school, I have been completely covered with eclipse mania. We are dismissing our students thirty minutes late today so they can view the entire eclipse with their classes, wearing safety glasses purchased from NASA.

Our phones have steadily rung with eclipse questions from parents. Many children are staying home for the day and many others are checking out early.

One report said millions of people are traveling by the thousands to get a better view of the eclipse. Blairsville, Georgia, a mountain town with total population of 23,000 is expecting anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 visitors.

The event has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse and these people are being called Eclipse Chasers.

Personally, I really can’t understand the hype. Several prominent preachers have come out and said that the eclipse is not a good sign for the United States. They believe it’s a warning from God. Some say it’s a sign of end times drawing close.

When I looked in the Bible, I couldn’t find a single instance of God blotting out the sun, being interpreted as a good thing. The Bible says that He is light. “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

Where does that leave Christians? How do we interpret this eclipse? Should we even try?

As I pondered the significance of it, the answer I kept coming up with was prayer. We can certainly pray for wisdom regarding the entire ordeal. We can pray for the safety of the throngs of people who are determined to travel to see it. We can pray for the safety of the millions of people who have decided to look directly at the sun without the correct protective equipment.

But, perhaps most importantly, we can pray that God uses this enormous celestial event to turn our hearts and minds back to Him. Think of the impact that could be made if every one of those Eclipse Chasers were to pray collectively for peace in our nation. Think of the impact on the entire world if everyone prayed for revival.

Only time will tell what this day means, if anything significant at all. But, prayer is a weapon that we are always equipped with, no matter the circumstances. I plan on using it a lot today. Perhaps you’d like to join me.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy

Seeking the Easter Eggs

Posted on by Wendy
We can be just as delighted about finding life’s Easter eggs today, as we were when we looked for them as kids.

My son is always talking about finding, Easter eggs, in his favorite movies and video games. When he first began talking to me about them, I had no idea what he was talking about. Then he explained.

Easter eggs are intentional inside jokes or inside messages hidden within a game or movie. For example, Pixar likes to place a Pizza Planet truck in almost every one of their movies. The casual observer would miss it. But, those watchers who know to look for it, can almost always spot it.

I am told that the Easter eggs, appear in tons of movies, but most of the time, the audience doesn’t even know it. We don’t see them because we don’t look.

As I was scrolling through the pictures on my phone the other day, I came across a hydrangea. On the day that I took it, I had make like fifty trips to a dumpster, throwing in old shingles, rotten wood and anything else that needed to be trashed. I was hot. There were lots of bugs swarming around and fire ant beds to dodge.

But every time I walked past that hydrangea, it made me smile. It was almost like a little breath of fresh air. At some point, I stopped and snapped a picture of it, simply because I enjoyed seeing it so much that day.

It was grace and beauty in the midst of ugliness.

As I saw the picture again, I smiled and thought of my son’s quest to find Easter eggs. God had sent me an Easter egg, a hidden message that He was there. He placed it there for me to find and appreciate, if I was willing to look.

When I think about it, He places them in my path all of the time and I probably miss them more often than not. But, I’m determined to become a better seeker.

I want to learn to truly appreciate the unexpected beauty of a sunrise on the way to work, and the little brightly colored yellow weed that pops up on my walking path, and the mama who drops off cookies at the office just because. More importantly, I want to acknowledge and give thanks to the One who sent them.

It think when we truly seek Jesus, we find Him everywhere. A hydrangea reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Finding Peace Where We Are

Posted on by Wendy
We are called to walk with Jesus, not to run ahead.

This past summer, my family attended a mission trip. We helped to repair houses for some people who desperately needed help. We spent an entire week with other Christians.

We ate every meal with other Christians and publicly prayed before we ate. We openly talked about Jesus throughout all of our days. We wore crosses around our necks. We visited different churches for our meals and those people shared Christ with us.

We sang about Jesus each night and talked about seeing Him during the day. It was definitely a mountaintop week.

Then, we returned home. My hubby and I returned to work. Our lives got back to normal. Don’t get me wrong; our normal is perfectly fine, but when you spend a week doing God’s work alongside God’s people, normal just seems, I don’t know, kind of pointless. Shouldn’t I be doing more?

I was walking and praying about my frustration when I heard a hawk calling out. He was very close, but I couldn’t see him. I had been running and walking at a very fast pace as I looked for him. I slowed down and I heard him again. This time he was behind me.

When I turned around and slowly walked past a place I had already been, there he sat in a tree at my eye level. I stopped and He just sat there looking at me as if he had waited for me to find him. We stared at each other for a few minutes before he finally flew away.

I marveled at my encounter as I walked, not ran, home, and a thought formed deep inside my heart.

God has put me in this place at this moment for a specific reason. I don’t have to know or understand the what or the why of it. If I live my days focused on Jesus, nothing I do is pointless. When I try to run ahead, I miss seeing Him, just like I missed that hawk. But, when I slow down and seek Him, I mean really seek Him, He will always show Himself and let me know where I need to be.

I might feel like I’m more productive on the mountain top than I am simply walking along the beaten path, but if I trust Him and obey His call, I realize that in the end, that’s not for me to determine. That realization brings me great peace.

Perhaps you needed some peace today too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Enormity of Grace

Posted on by Wendy
Grace is huge.

On the final night of our Salkehatchie mission trip, we all participated in communion. We do that every year and it’s always a meaningful service. But, this year, was a communion service like I had never participated in before.

We were all called to kneel at the alter. As we waited for the pastor to come around, he handed us each an enormous hunk of bread. I’ll have to admit that I found it kind of strange. I have taken communion at many different churches over the course of my lifetime.

Sometimes it has been in the form of perfectly round little wafers. Sometimes it’s been tiny pieces of bread. Sometimes it has been small pieces of Saltine crackers. I have stood up and knelt down and even passed the communion tray. The procedures may have varied from church to church, but one thing never changed.

The bread that represented the Body of Christ was small. This makes perfect sense because communion is remembrance and there are often many people to feed.

It’s also usually a solemn service with few words spoken as we are called to contemplate with quiet reverence, the enormity of Jesus’ sacrifice.

But, that night as I waited for the cup to come around and made a mental note of the very large piece of bread in my hand, the pastor addressed us. He told us that he was sure we had noticed the large portion of bread that we all held in our hands. He told us that grace was big like the bread that we held. He told us that we would have to spend some time chewing on that bread in our hands and that we should spend some time “chewing” on the idea of the enormity of grace.

I suspect his message was specifically meant for the teenagers present, but it struck a cord deep in my own heart.

How often do we just breeze through communion and life for that matter, taking grace for granted? It’s complete forgiveness of sins, forgiveness for anything we have ever done. It’s the bridge to a relationship with God and to Eternity. It’s huge, but like the communion service, we can sometimes allow it to become commonplace.

When the pastor finished offering us all the cup, he pointed out all of the crumbs on the floor. He reminded us that grace was messy just like sin is messy.

After the service, we all went on to individually share the ways we had seen God that week. He was everywhere, but of course, He’s always everywhere just as grace is ever present, we just often don’t take the time to look.

An unconventional communion service reminded me to seriously consider and give thanks for the enormity of grace. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Trusting God

Posted on by Wendy
The Creator of the Universe always has the final say.

On a recent mission trip my family took to South Carolina, we were planning on working on two houses on two different work sites. Both sites required new roofs which is not unusual for Salkehatchie mission houses.

What was unsettling was that the weather report called for 80% chance of rain on Monday and 100% on Tuesday. We were undaunted.

When a man came to our site to help us get the shingles on the roof, he told our site leader, “that there was no way he would open a roof today.”

Our site leader smiled. He told me that he started to tell him that we were working for Jesus, but he didn’t.

I had reminded the teens before we got on the roof that the Creator of the Universe was not in any way bound by its laws.

On Monday, we completely tore off the shingles on one side of the roof and replaced them. We got a few sprinkles of rain at most. After we returned to the church where we were staying and after we all got showers, it began to pour. I smiled as I ran through the drops and gave thanks.

God had come through.

The next day, the rain chances were even higher. There was a discussion about just tearing off a quarter of the shingles, but our site leader, a man of deep faith, thought better of it and gave the go ahead to get them all.

I sent out a prayer request that the weather would hold on Facebook.

I was sent to pick up some boards to replace the rotten ones. As I drove, the rain began to drizzle. I prayed out loud that God would show Himself to these teens. We were acting in faith, opening up that roof and would He please keep the rain at bay.

He once again came through. I kind of pictured Him in the heavens somewhere with His mighty hands holding back the rain, just as He had done with the Red Sea for Moses.

We finished that side of the roof with little to no rain once again and once again, when we left our work site and returned to our church, the rains came.

I giggled as I gave thanks. I will never have any idea how many people prayed for our weather on those two days, but I do know there were warriors involved. We got two roofs put on while the occupants inside stayed dry.

I am reminded that man’s laws, knowledge and predictions mean nothing to God. He has always had the final say and He always will. He demonstrated that fact to me and a bunch of teens not long ago.

Perhaps you needed to see it too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Inspiring Through Action

Posted on by Wendy
Shining the light of Christ can inspire others to do the same.

On a recent Salkehatchie mission trip to South Carolina, my group was working on a roof. If you don’t know anything about roofing, you first have to remove all the old shingles and every single nail. Then you have to replace any boards that have rotted underneath those old shingles.

It takes a while and it’s a lot of manual labor to cut out the old boards and haul up the new ones with the right measurements.

On top of that, the new shingles have to be hauled up on the roof. They come wrapped in bundles and they are heavy, very heavy, but if you broke the packages and carried them a few at the time, it would take forever.

This year, our site leader asked the man who delivered the shingles if he knew anyone with a shingle lifter. That’s a cool little contraption that lifts the shingles to the roof on a little elevator. Turns out he did know someone with one. His son-in-law had one.

Our site leader called him and he agreed to come and help us out. He drove from an hour away to get to us and it was understood that there would be a fee for the services.

When they arrived in a big white van, we found that he and his partner were very nice guys. They joked with us and picked at the kids as they lifted the shingles to one side of the house.

When they were finished, the owner asked our site leader if he was making any money on the roof. When he told him not only was he not making any money, but that the teenagers he saw before him had all paid to be able to come and help with this project, he was stunned.

He actually stopped and addressed the teens and told them in a world where kids only cared about themselves and their electronics that he was thrilled to see a bunch of them giving up time in their summer to help someone. He was well aware they could have been doing something else.

He left without charging us a penny for his services and offered to come back to lift the shingles to the other half when we were ready.

I thought about that man long after he drove away, long after that roof was done. I thought about how we so often talk about being the hands and feet of Christ and letting our light shine. But, we often miss how our doing that inspire others to do the same.

Some teens doing their part in light shining encouraged someone else to be a part of our mission too. Isn’t that what we are all called to do?

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂