Fast and Furious

My cold came out of nowhere. One minute I was fine, the next I had a very bad sore throat which led to a cold in my chest. It came fast and furious.

Our trials are like that sometimes. Things seem to be going well, then all of a sudden, WHAM! We get blindsided with a problem.

Thankfully, we aren't alone in our difficulties. God is waiting in the wings to give us strength and comfort. Sometimes we don't "feel" Him; but He is there nonetheless, working often behind the scenes in areas we can't even imagine.

So stay focused on the Lord. Rest in Him, and He will see you through.

Taking a Breather

I got hit hard with a bad cold the other day, so I won't be making a regular post today. Check back on Friday.

In Honor of the Fallen

Today is Memorial Day, a day to commemorate and honor those who have sacrificed their lives to protect and uphold the freedoms we share in this great country.

Thank you, brave soldiers, for keeping us free!

The Dark Hour Will Pass

From the days of doctor visits and home health care, we read about people who were stricken with life threatening illnesses. The doctor worked fervently and the people prayed through the night, hoping for a turn of events. It was only until the crisis has passed, where the patient's body was finally resisting the illness, that the doctor could relax and the family and friends could rejoice.

Isn't it like that sometimes in our trials? While we are in the midst of it, everything seems so dark and dismal. We don't know which way the situation will turn. We can only pray and trust God to see us through. But like the illustration above, the dark hour will pass. What looked like death, now shows a glimmer of hope. That hope becomes brighter as we put ourselves completely in the Lord's hands and trust Him to make us stronger and more resilient each and every day.

Are you in a dark hour of your life? Turn the sitation over to God. Trust Him for the outcome. And soon you will see hope shining through the darkness.

Line of Defense

A surprise was waiting for us the other day after returning from an outing. An out-of-control car had careened into the block wall we had been building, knocking down and damaging about 7 blocks and destroying several pieces of rebar. The good thing was that we had a wall to begin with. Otherwise that car could have ended up in my sons' bedroom.

Are you aware that Jesus has a line of defense around you if you are a believer in Him? Nothing can get past that line unless God allows it. Because we live in both a spiritual and physical world, there are many dangers we aren't even aware of that hit that "wall" of protection. Without that buffer, we would be bombarded with far worse trials and tribulations. Anything allowed to pass through is meant for God's intended purposes that can build character, create compassion, or bring people to His saving knowledge.

Do you have a spiritual line of defense? If not, ask Jesus into your heart so you can have his buffer zone around you.

That's Entertainment

Did you get your ears tickled at church this past Sunday? I'm referring to the notion that people want to be entertained when they go to church. They want worship to be a certain way, as if they're attending a concert. They want the sermon to be short and funny with no "fire and brimstone" messages. But is that what we should truly be looking for?

We aren't supposed to go to church to please ourselves. We go out of obedience to God to join with fellow believers (the true definition of the church) to learn what God has to say to us through the study of His word. When we look for a church, we should be looking for 1) truth in how the message is preached; 2) a walk-through-the-Bible approach where you study line by line, chapter by chapter in order to receive the full counsel of God; and 3) an opportunity to worship the Lord with songs of praise, even if it's with only our voices. Everything beyond that is icing on the cake.

So if you're not "entertained" every Sunday, that's okay. The main thing is to learn about the true character of God, and to see what promises and encouragements and instructions He has for our lives.

The Battle Is the Lord's

Feeling like the whole world is against you and that you are standing alone before giants? Find courage from the words David called out to the Philistines just before he slew Goliath: "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword or spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands." (1 Samuel 17:47)

Hope

It was a bit discouraging when only one of my corn seeds grew. I think the heat wave we had after my initial planting did the seeds in. But since it had been several weeks with no activity, I decided to replant. I took the hoe and re-furrowed my rows, giving them a bit more width. Then I added new corn, carrot, and Italian squash seeds. That was on Monday.

When I went to water my garden yesterday, I noticed that there was a bit of green sprouting from one of my corn hills. It was too early for the new seeds; so it had to have been from the old planting. What I had thought was dead, suddenly had new life.

Isn't that like us sometimes to give up before we should? Even though it had been well over a month of waiting, I had given up. The normal gestation period for that type of corn was two weeks at the latest. I had well passed that timeline. So no one could blame me for wanting to start over. But yet, here was new life; new growth.

Thankfully, Jesus doesn't give up on us. He waits patiently for growth, tending to us with diligence and love and care. He carefully waters us with His Word so we can be nourished and strengthened.

Don't give up on yourself. There is always hope. Just ask the Lord to be your gardener, and then wait for new growth to begin.

Get-togethers

Yesterday my husband and I hosted a Mothers' Day Picnic and Barbeque at our house with my Mom and my sister as the key guests. We had a very nice time, enjoying conversation, laughter, and good food. The weather was perfect, too, with a beautiful sunny day in the mid 70's.

Get-togethers are nice when the company is filled with those you love. The Lord wants to get-together with us. He wants that one-on-one fellowship where He can share in conversation that comes from reading His word. This brings spiritual nourishment that strengthens us for the day ahead. Our hearts are then filled with hope and encouragement that leads to joy.

Why not try getting together with God? You will be richly blessed with the encounter.

Trusting God When It's Tough

There are times when life is tough. Circumstances come our way, and it's hard to see where we are going. Those are not times to give up. Those are times to trust God.

Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." If this is true, then we need to read God's word, trust Him to lead the way, and then follow closely behind. He will navigate us through the rough seas and the barely visible trails. He is the Light that illuminates through the fog.

Having a tough time? Trust God to see you through.

Kindly Remove Your Hat

In the days of silent cinema, placards were used not only for dialogue within the motion picture, but also as a reminder of proper etiquette and courtesy for those within the theater. One placard read, "Ladies, Kindly Remove Your Hats." The style for fashionable ladies in those days were big hats, sometimes with lots of feathers and fluff. They blocked the view of anyone sitting behind them.

I thought about this in terms of our relationship with God. Sometimes we block God, not from seeing because of course He's Omniscient and sees everything, but from leading us in the direction we should go. We stand in His way and say, "Okay, God...lead!" Yet we are not stepping aside so we can follow. We need to take off our hats of headship and independence, and step out and step back so that we can follow the Lord completely.

It's not always easy to do so. Sometimes we've built ourselves some pretty big headgear, thinking we are much more than we are. But it is absolutely necessary for us to remove any resistance to God's guidance if we truly want Him to be the Director of our paths.

So, to gentlemen and to ladies everywhere, kindly remove your hats!

Renewed Vision

Have you noticed that as you age, your vision gets worse? In my case low lighting is bad news, especially with small print. Unless I'm reading, using the computer, or driving at night, I usually don't wear my glasses. This means I can forget about reading all those fine print labels at the supermarket, because, of course, I left my glasses at home thinking I didn't need them. I'm sure as I get older I will need to start carrying them around more and more.

Sometimes we lose vision in another way -- in our walk with God. We usually start out strong, stepping out in faith upon the journey the Lord would have us take. But as we age, and as life in general consumes our time, our vision weakens and blurs.

As Christians it is vital for us to have a strong vision for the Lord's work. We are here on this earth for His purposes. His plans need to succeed, not our own. Proverbs 29:18a tells us, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." We need to renew our vision if we want to lead a joyous and productive Christian life.

So how do we renew our vision? We seek the ultimate vision restorer -- God. When we humble ourselves before Him, acknowledging the fact that our vision needs restoration, then He will show us how to get on the right track again. We may get our vision back quickly, or it may take some time (especially if we have let things fog over for too long); but God is faithful and He will lead us in the right direction once again as we daily put our trust in Him.

Reflection for the Day

Here is a Scripture to encourage those who try to serve the Lord with their whole heart:

"And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered."

2 Chronicles 31:21 NKJ