God's Will For You...

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

1. Joy is eternal and from God.  We don't have to be happy (happiness happens) about what is going on but we can find joy in knowing that God is who He says He is. He promises us that He will take care of us.  We must cling to His promises!

2.  Pray!  Pray!  Pray!  God does not desire for us to be silent in our relationship with Him!  We are to call upon Him in trouble, in sacrifice, in peace, in good times and bad, when we are right with Him and when we have fallen back into our pit!  God says, "Call to me and I will answer you..."  Tell Him when you are angry and disappointed (He can handle it)!  Give Him your questions and doubts (He can handle it)!  Praise Him when all is right (it teaches us and will help us remember when things are wrong)!  

3. Practice thankfulness.  Everyday find something (or 5 or 10) that you are thankful for.  There may be some days when you have to search for that one thing, but it is there.  And if you can't find one thing on this earth to thank God for, praise Him for who He is.  Turn the focus off of you and back on to God.  Thank you God for being who You say You will always be.

4.  God's will is for you to live in a relationship with Christ.  Relationship: a connection or involvement; connection between persons by blood.  Jesus established that relationship with you when His blood covered every part of who you are.  He is involved in every aspect of your life (whether you choose to accept that or not) and He has connected Himself to you through your baptism.  You are His.  This is His will.

May the God of grace shower you with His love, may Christ Jesus remind you of the forgiveness you have through His redeeming blood and may the Holy Spirit cause you to sigh in wonder at the joy at God is about to do!

Gracious & Compassionate

Let me be honest. Sometimes I struggle with the church. There. I said it. I am a church worker and I struggle with the church. And here is why: I think that sometimes we forget who makes up the church.

Who is the average person that sits in the pew at church? Really...think about it....

Let me list who I am and who my friends are (without using names, of course): wounded, hurt, depressed, struggling with marriage, thinking they are the worst parent in the world, having a good day, so tired, questioning, hoping, praying, having a hard time believing, aging, wondering, wanting more, bored...

Do any of these fit you? And yet, with all of this and more sitting out in the congregation, how do we answer it? Sometimes the words we speak are so embedded into us, we do it without thinking. Sometimes the words wash over us in a way that is completely new. Sometimes...how do you finish the sentence?

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:8-9

Do you need to hear this today? I do. I feel like I am in a rut sometimes. Going through the motions. I hear the words, but is there real compassion behind them? Does anyone really care about my needs? Do my needs really matter?

I care about yours. I would love to pray for you. To lift you up. What are you and are you not getting? Can we start praying for the church? Is it really doing what Jesus intended? To heal, to bring hope, to offer forgiveness?

Know this for certain. God created you with His heart full of love for you, Jesus came to rescue you from sin and chase after you when you are tempted to something other than Him and the Holy Spirit continually whispers in your ear that you are His.

You, dear friend, are completely taken care of. Life happens, hurt impacts us, questions arise, but that does not change Whose you are. Believe Him and His promises. He will never, ever leave you. Ever!

Sweet Jesus

My girls were flying down the tubing hill this weekend at Camp Perkins. Actually, so was Riley. And I was too. I just couldn't help myself. But after awhile, I got tired of walking up that big hill so I just sat down and took it all in. My kids. My amazing husband. The snow. The mountains. The beauty. The silence.

On our long drive home today I could not get over what peace I felt at that moment, sitting on the hill. The wind was blowing, the snow was cold, my girls were screaming and laughing their way down, but still there was such a peace...such a quietness.

God says, "...though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow..." Isaiah 1:18. That blanket of white covers my multitude of sin and even though a storm may rage around me, I can find peace and quiet in the midst of it. I saw that, with my own eyes, this weekend and it was incredible.

Now as I sit here, just having finished up my Bible study notes for High School Bible study tonight an old (not super old)song comes to mind. "Sweet Jesus, wash over me. Would you come and sweep me off of my feet, please. It's been far too long since I sang Your song and I was hoping that you might like to meet me. I heard You hear the broken hearted, even those who have been discarded. Oh, how I need You, I need to hear You say. Don't worry now, don't worry how, everything just seems to all work out. Would you sing me now to sleep?"

Too often I take myself away from Jesus, because I don't have a pressing matter. There is no drama right now. And all of a sudden I realize it has been far too long. I miss the peace and quiet that His everyday Presence can bring to me. And removing myself from Him actually gives Satan a foothold to remind me how discarded I have been. This is not a good place for me.

I am covered by the blood of my Savior. I have been given a peace that passes all understanding. I want, no need, to live in that everyday.

Sweet Jesus, won't you sing me now to sleep?

Makrothumia

There are two greek words for patience: hupomone and makrothumia.

Hupomone is endurance inspired by hope. It is circumstance based. It is hope. It is perseverance in knowing that this is not the end. Patience. James 1:2-4 says

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
And later in James 5:11, James gives us an example of who had this type of patience: Job.

But the other kind of patience, makrothumia, is different. It is the word used in Galatians 5 when Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit, it's the kind of patience that is inspired by mercy. It's the kind of patience that God has with us. It is 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

It's wanting God's creation to know Him. Not wanting one of His loved ones to perish.

It's also forgiveness for when I have sinned yet again. It's mercy when I have a doubt about God's goodness. It's all encompassing love when I need to be reminded of God's everlasting promises.

It's also what I have been called to do when I have been wronged. In fact, the greek word for forgive is aphiemi and it means to let go, let escape. Just as Christ did for us, He broke the chains of our sin...because He loved us too much to see us bound.

This type of patience, that is inspired by mercy, is about never giving up on the person, but setting them free because the love is so great.

What does this mean for us?

Has anyone hurt you? Let it go. Unforgiveness means that you have bound them to yourself. Cut them loose, set them free, forgive. I know, it's hard. But that mirrors what Christ has done for us. Never doubt what God can when forgiveness is involved. Oh my, healing is just one of His characteristics.

Never forget how much you have been forgiven from. Never forget how patient God has been with you.

Live in that Spirit. It's grace.

I Am Here

Jesus was bold, that's for sure.

He is having this conversation with the Jews that gets a little heated. They want to know who He is but don't like His answers. Jesus is using language that He shouldn't have been. Really. Jesus really touches a sore spot when He starts talking about Abraham. The Jews get really defensive. "Who do you think you are?" they want to know.

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" John 8:58

Dangerous words. The stones were picked up and they were ready to throw them at Jesus, but He slipped away.

What was the big deal?

Jesus' claim. He used the unspeakable word. He used the Name that was reserved for God only. So sacred and special was this Name that the Jews didn't even spell it with all the letters, because it was so holy. No one used the Name. It is the Name that Moses heard in the desert.

Exodus 3 is the account of Moses and the burning bush. Out of this bush that was burning but somehow wasn't, a voice called to Moses. This voice told him to go back to Egypt and the lead the people out of slavery. But Moses, scared (I think I understand where he is coming from, by the way) asked, "Who do I say told me to go?" Really, honestly, Moses is asking, "Who are you?" And God answers:

"I Am Who I Am. Tell them, I Am sent me to you."

The Hebrew meaning for this? I am here, really present, to help. He is present.

The slaves of Egypt had been crying out to God and Moses was to go to them and say, "He is here to help. He is present."

Thousands of years later, waiting for a Messiah and calling out God, Jesus came and said, "I am here to help. I am present."

And a couple thousand years later, we, who call out to God in the midst of our everyday praises and struggles can hear that voice as well.

"He is here to help. He is present." Yhwh. Yahweh.

Nothing has changed. The same God who brought the slaves from death to life through the waters, is the same God whose outstretched arms took the nails for me and you, and is the same God who was promised to be with us through thick and thin. God is faithful to that promise.

You are not alone.

He is here to help. He is present.

Dropped Stones

Have you ever just felt dirty?

Have you ever had one of those days that you just wanted to take a shower...just to feel clean?

I wonder how many baths David needed to take to feel clean after he got Bathsheba pregnant and then murdered her husband. I wonder if there were nights when he woke up sweating with guilt. Do you think he was able to sweep it under his rug? I doubt it, he was considered "...a man after God's own heart." Nope, he couldn't just forget what he did.

We can't either. We try, yes, but it always still nags us because something just isn't right.

I keep thinking of Alex's parents. Alex is a 14 year old boy at the orphanage Marlee and I worked at. He had special needs that his parents, I know, could not afford. He was too much for them. And I cannot allow myself to believe that they didn't love him, they kept him until he was 2. They kept him for as long as they could and then they couldn't do it anymore. They threw him away.

It was wrong and I hate the fact that a child was tossed away. I hate that they could see no more options for Alex. Thank God that He could see more.

Found in the garbage by police, a judge gave him life at Dorie's Promise where he thrives. He smiles and laughs and has a permanant home. He is fed and loved and cared for. Alex is alive.

But his parents. My heart breaks for them. That mama lives with the guilt, every day, that she threw away her baby. I wonder if there are nights when she wakes up sweating with guilt. Oh, how I wish she could know that he is alive and thriving. How I wish she could know there is always another way.

David cried out, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgression." Psalm 51:1

And at that moment he was clean. He was forgiven. He was free.

And then David's goal, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you." Psalm 51:13

I think David would seek out these parents. I think these parents are burdened by their sin. I think they need freedom.

What makes me any different from them?

He who has not sinned can cast the first stone.

My stone drops.

What about yours?

Pray with me.

Epilogue

We've been home from Guatemala for a week now. It took a couple days to get back into the swing of things. I am still tired. I am still thinking constantly about the National Orphanage and Alan. I swear that I can still smell the dump. I can still feel the hands of the children at Dorie's Promise and hear their little voices.

So what have we learned?

I am not speaking for Marlee. Her learning will come out in years to come. We'll see what seed was planted and how God will grow her to change the world...which was a big part of the reason for going.

Riley and I look at our girls and know that they can change the world. But the only way they will know how is if we model that to them. It has to be part of our everyday life...and it is! (We invited the Kirby vaccuum guy to eat dinner with us!) But I think it is also important to show them a bigger picture...the world is not like our house. I heard the complaints of some of our family, I heard the words of total disagreement before I went, but we stand by our decision to take Marlee to Guatemala.

Here is what I observed and heard Marlee talking to me about every night after we prayed and before we fell asleep: Marlee felt pain that she had never imagined and was pushed to action. She touched children that are rarely touched. She prayed for strangers needs. She fed the hungry, brought water to the thirsty. Isn't that what Jesus calls us to do? And in doing so, don't we feed Him?

The question was asked, "...but isn't she too young to see all that?" And I have to ask, "...is a child to young to share Love?" I want my kids to know that the world is not perfect and there is a need for the Healing Savior. And we give our kids to God to use them. We want this world, that God loves desperatly, to be a part of their world. Is it always safe? No. We acknowledge that. But is the Gospel worth the risk? We've answered that for our family, you must answer it for yours.

What about me? What have I learned? If Jesus were walking around here today He would have been in the dump speaking with people, He would have been touching the kids at the National Orphanage, He would have been hiking down into the canyon to deliver food baskets. Jesus would have been playing tag with the children and singing songs to the babies. Jesus would be present with "those people." And that's just what we wanted to do, we wanted to be where Jesus would be.

Some have asked, "Why can't you do this in the United States?" Well, we could have. But this time, for this one week, God called us elsewhere. Like we were told that first day, "Out of all the Christians, it is you two who are here this week." We were called to Guatemala for that time. Who am I to question where God sends? And for those who ask us that question...please remember that every other day of the year we are here in the United States praying to make that impact. And I think God allows us to...and please, please join us for Thanksgiving this year if you want to jump in with us.

Finally, we pray for our children. Everyone prays differently for thier children. But for our girls, Marlee, Ella and Maya, our prayer is that they will love God more than we do. And our hope and prayer is that God will show us how to teach them how to love more and more and more.

Our girls will love Him more.