Standing

First I must explain.  I live in the country on acres of land.  When you live in the country with lots of acres, people think you have room for animals. They think you want more animals.  So not true!  People drop their unwanted animals here.  I hope they all get a rash the doctor can't cure.  Well no...well maybe.  I have found homes for untold numbers of cats and dogs.  I've had around 12 of them fixed and because of them getting hit by cars we have buried a lot of them in the over 18 years we have lived here.

I know you are saying weird subject but hang in there.  I said all this to tell about the cats.  When a cat gets hit by a car and Paul or I have to bury it. (Our than son in law must get credit for burying more than his share also.)  Once one has died, we find a place and start digging.  As you dig the hole all the other cats come around the hole and watch. Some sit close by, some stand or sit a little further back and some stand even further back.   Paul said he talks to them as he digs and warns them about the dangers of going in the road.  They look at him and listen like they understand.  I never thought to do that.  But anyway,  they all gather and stay with you till you stomp down the last bit of dirt on the grave.

I'm not a "Martha" person by nature.  So I may or may not bring you food when you lose a loved one.  Depends what is going on with me.  But I will stand with you.  I may be able to come to the funeral home I may be able to come to the funeral.  It all depends.   If I can, I will, if I can't I won't.  But I can promise you what I know I will do.  I will stand with you like the cats.  I will wake up in the middle of the night and pray for you.  I will pray for you as I go through my day.  I will remind the Lord that He said He won't let you have more than you can handle.  I will pray that He will comfort you and strengthen you.  I will pray that you can keep your mind on Him so He can keep you in perfect peace. I will ask the Lord to carry you.  If your child dies I will pray for you for years.  I will respect your loss.  I will acknowledge your pain. Like my cats do, I will stand with you even if you don't know I'm praying.

I think we change things by standing with our friends and loved ones using the gifts that we possess.  Some bring the food.  Some help clean the house or make arrangements. Some visit at the hospital or while hospice is there. Some collect money if needed to help with the cost.  Some send flowers or cards.  Some know just what words to say to comfort.  Some bring hugs or hold hands or listen.  Some pray.

Some stand close by.
Others a little further back.
And still others stand far away.

But we all stand with the bereaved in the way we can.  Using the gifts God has given us.  And if we all do that than the person is taken care of and helped to get through the dark time of loss.

Make me Content

Here it is a Saturday morning in January. My friends in the north tell on Facebook of the snow and show blowing and shoveling. I gaze out my window at the Tennessee landscape. No snow. The drive looks damp. But no snow. That's okay with me. I'm good without it for a while. It's winter. I'm sure we will have some but for today. I'm good.

It makes me think of that verse the Apostle Paul wrote. ...I have learned in whatever state I am in, to be content. Phil 4:11... the amplified version puts it like this: for I have learned how to be [f] content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.

I am content without snow. But am I content while waiting for prayers to be answered? Am I undisturbed as I wait for healing to take place, for relationships to be restored? Am I disquieted as life plays out in ways I don't understand or like? Am I able to rest in God? Am I able to trust Him to work it all out for good?

I often think of Corrie Ten Boon. A prisoner of war in a concentration camp. She was a believer. She loved God. She railed against her circumstance. She was disquieted at first. Her sister Betsy had grace and carried herself with a quiet peace. I remember reading how she thanked God in everything. Much to Corrie's dismay Betsy told her. "we must thank God for the lice our room is infested with. Because it keeps the guards out so we can freely share the gospel with the other prisoners. We can sing without being told to stop." (My paraphrase) Corrie came to understand and embrace the peace Betsy possessed. When Betsy died. God kept Corrie and she lived to tell us about courage in a fiery trial and love that reaches to the lowest despair a person can imagine.

I often think of Corrie and Betsy and think, "Could I have been content there? I don't know. Can I be content now?"

Whatever situation we find ourselves in. Whatever trial we are going through. Whatever season of life we are in. Lord please help us to be peaceful, quiet and content in you. Trusting you to bring your good will to our lives.

Just a Closer Walk

Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Grant it Jesus is my Plea. Daily walking close to thee. Let it be, Dear Lord is my plea.....
Did you ever sing this song? Years ago we would sing this in church. And I would long for a closer walk with the Lord. I would sing it with sincerity. My heart longed to be closer, have a more intimate relationship with my savior. I didn't know it would be years before I learned how to come into His presense. And I never had a clue how sweet, how precious, how healing it would be. Awe if I had known. If I only had had an inkling of what a closer walk would be like.
Let me go back to spring of 2010. I shared this in another post but it is worth repeating. We had a man come preach at our church. Bob Rodgers. He challenged us to pray an hour a day. Now I don't mean to be boastful just sharing a wonderful thing that has happened to me. But a lot of us took him up on the challenge and I started an adventure my soul had been longing for since I was a mere girl. We had committed to pray for an hour a day for a month. I have been doing it ever since. Only missed a day here and there. But it has been so sweet spending time with my savior, with Father God. I thought I would pray and God would change so many people, family, friends, co-workers, situations, the world.
Side note here: I had a magnet in my first car I owned at 17, James Cagney was my car's name. He was a little black volkswagon with a red interior. The magnet that stayed on the dash said "Prayer Changes Things" It has been a deep and long held belief of mine.)
Okay back to what I was saying. I headed into this adventure to change others by prayer. Imagine my surprise when I was the one who changed! And I was the one who realized, I have a lot to work on here! As I prayed and studied and listen to teaching and preaching I learned more of God, more of his great love for me. I learned that he is crazy about us. When we show up to talk with him. He shows up. The one who started everything takes the time to listen to our prayers. He guides us and shows us what he wants for us. He shows us what a beautiful life he has planned for us if we will just follow him. Just walk with him. Just talk with him. he also shows us hidden attitudes. Unforgiveness we are harboring. Sins we didn't realize we were doing and sins we justified. He shows us these so we can deal with them through repenting, through finding scriptures to stand on as we turn a new way. He shows us lies of the enemy that we believe. We receive these lies like they are truth. We have heard the lies for so many years that we accept them. But as I spent more time with the Lord I saw the lies for what they were and I am overcoming them with truth. Truth really does set us free. Jesus is truth so as we daily walk close to Him the lies will be revealed and He will help us replace them with His truth about them. As I learn to walk close to Him I am learning to be more peaceful, I'm learning about his grace. I'm learning about his amazing mercy. It is the most wonderful adventure. God is good! Just make a decision today to press into Jesus to Walk Closer to Him today than you did yesterday. If you mess up and fall down get up, wipe yourself off and press in again.

A mother Arose

Judges 5:7 b

Until I, Deborah, arose,
Arose a mother in Israel.


This is the verse the Lord brought to me this morning. It resounded in my heart. A mother of Israel arose. Where are the mothers arising today? Am I rising up? Am I standing up and shouting No to the enemy? Deborah was a warrior. She went into battle. Most of us, though we are sure we can't even achieve it prefer the Proverbs 31 Woman. We can at least be safe at home. Or maybe the Titus 2 woman. Teaching seems so gentile and pleasant.

But here is Deborah. A Warrior! For crying out loud! A Warrior? Me? Lord you must be talking to someone else. No? You are talking to me.

Deborah was a judge, a prophetess, a mother and a leader. Things were going terribly wrong and she talked to Barak asked him, Didn't God tell you to go deploy troops? to fight the battle? She was in essence saying to him. Hey Buddy aren't you supposed to be obeying God and fighting the battle and winning? He answered her and said If you will go with me I will go but if you won't I won't. She pointed out that if she went than the glory would go to a woman. Being a smart man he didn't care. So up she went with him. And long story short: they won the battle. And have you even heard his name? I have but had forgotten it. But anyone that knows much about the Bible has heard Deborah's name. She got the glory. And in their song of victory she sings the verse above. She was a Mother in the land where she lived. A woman in the area she occupied. She had a job... or two. She was a very busy woman. But she saw that there was danger and she pointed out to someone what THEY should be doing. But when he wouldn't do it alone She arose and fought the battle along with the others. And they won.

I don't know about you but I lift my eyes and all around me are battles. Good and evil. Pain, suffering, sorrow assails many. Prodigals, people that are blinded and have never seen the truth of God. Fruitless Christians, struggling and ineffective, defeated. And this message, this statement, this strong song that Deborah sings out UNTIL I, DEBORAH, AROSE, AROSE A MOTHER IN ISRAEL. This calls out to me. There was
trouble and a mother arose. I hear the clear challenge. The ringing question. Will I arise? Will you arise? Will a mother in the body of Christ Arise? Sisters, will we arise and do what the Lord is calling us to do? Will you be a warrior? Will you pray? Will you teach? Will you serve? Will you role model? Will you arise and do whatever the Lord is asking you to do? There is a Keith Green song below are part of the lyrics:

Who you gonna throw in the lake of fire,
Oh God our Lord?
Who you gonna throw when the flames get higher,
Oh God our Lord?
The Devil and the man with the dark desire,
Oh God our Lord.
The Devil and the man with the dark desire,
Oh God our Lord.

Oh God our Lord, Oh God our Lord.
Who you gonna throw in the lake of fire,
Oh God our Lord, Oh God our Lord.

Will my name be there when the books are opened,
Oh God our Lord.
Will my name be there when the books are opened,
Oh God our Lord.

You better know now, don't just be hoping,
Oh God our Lord.
You better know now, don't just be hoping,
Oh God our Lord.
Oh God our Lord, Oh God our Lord.
Will my name be there when the books are opened,
Oh God our Lord, Oh God our Lord.

Who's outside of the Holy City,
Oh God our Lord.
Tell me, who's left out of the Holy City,
Oh God our Lord.
The liar and the thief and the ones half ready,
Oh God our Lord.
The liar and the thief and the ones half ready,
Oh God our Lord.

Oh God our Lord, Oh God our Lord.
Tell me who's left out of the Holy City,
Oh God our Lord, Oh God our Lord.


This song haunts me. Who will be fooled? Who will be half ready? Who won't know God when they die? We have to tell them. We hold the truth in our hands. We know the truth in our hearts. We have to be Women of God, Mighty Warriors. So some day we can say with Deborah: I AROSE, A MOTHER AROSE! Don't be mistaken. We are in a war. In a war for people's souls.

Pencils

I must admit. I buy notebooks though none of my children or my grand baby is in school. I love a blank book with lovely pages ready to record any fancy my mind wishes to expound upon. So I buy new notebooks. I mean they are such a good price. A down right steal. Right? Than sometimes I share them with a daughter here and there because she also loves a blank page full of promise of a beautiful thought or a delightful story or a beckoning list. It’s like I gave her a piece of the finest chocolate. And don’t even get me started on pencils. Lovely, lovely pencils.

Well, okay since you got me started. One of the best presents ever was pencils already sharpened from my friend Ellen. Delightful! You get them at Walmart they are a natural wood color and they come SHARPENED! Already! I know, you are scratching your head. But I'm a little challenged when it comes to being organized and I can never find a pencil sharpener. So pre-sharpened pencils rule. And even if you have a sharpener they don't have the same kind of point. I'm getting off on a tangent. Let's leave it that I love pencils and sharpened wood colored pencils especially. Though I may branch out and dally with pencils of other colors. As I have occasionally taken a stroll on the wild side and tried to draw with colored pencils. Alas, the only pictures I can paint are with words. But I'm good with that. But my heart for now, belongs to the natural, pre-sharpened pencils that record my thoughts, dreams and lists.