Bad News, Good News

Soaring gas prices, declining property values, and messages of fear and dread are filling the world. I must admit, I too have succumbed to the nagging thought that life as we know it may soon disappear. I don't like that feeling. And so I remember. I remember my God.

I remember that God is my Deliverer. He is the "ever present help in trouble" (Ps.46:1). I remember that His faithfulness assuages the hangover of alarm left by the nightly news. "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD."(Ps.112: 7) I remember that when these disturbing feelings of anxiety envelope me that I have a Savior who calls me to Himself, calls me to bring my burdens to Him. Phil 4:6-7"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. "

Yes, even though American Airlines has announced they will begin charging for each piece of luggage you check, we have ONE that has promised to carry all our baggage. The price to us: FREE. So when the world seems to be falling apart, and worry seems to be your constant companion,stand on the ONE who is not falling apart. Stand on the truth of HIS Word. No matter how you feel.

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Praise HIM!

Cry Out

I know that some of you reading this are going through "stuff". I know that it isn't fun. It isn't nice. It isn't good. I have been thinking alot about you today. I have called out to HIM with you. For you.

It hardly seems right to tell HIM some of the "stuff" of our lives. Even though He knows it all already, it still tears at our core to hear ourselves utter the wrongs we have done. Utter the pain we are in. Utter the despair that we feel. Rebellious wrongs. Unimaginable pain. Abysmal despair. This perfect God surely doesn't want to hear it all....again. Does HE?

I don't pretend to understand it all. But I trust HIM. He says to call out. To cry out. Over and over throughout His word we see it. Those lost, wandering, rebellious, hurting, shoulda-learned-the-first-time people found themselves in messes. The Israelites, Samson, the Israelites, Jonah, the Israelites, David, well you get the picture, they cried out to God. And not just once. Many times. And guess what? He heard them. He rescued them. He had mercy on them. He had compassion on them.

I love the way the Message describes God. In Nehemiah 9:26-31 God, Our God, is described as the God of "bottomless compassion". So think this black hole of pain, suffering, or sin is your eternal abyss? Not with Christ. Because His mercy trumps our failings every time. His peace is the soothing balm for our pain. And His "bottomless compassion" goes deeper than any despair. Cry out to HIM. Maybe for the first time. Maybe for the millionth. He will hear you.

It is just who HE is. And He is who HE is no matter who we are. That is the simple truth of it all. No matter what dilemma we face. No matter what sin we have committed. No matter what unknown future awaits us. No matter what. HE IS. HE will always be. Rest on that friend.

Praise HIM!

Adopted

The unknown womb. The place the Lord decided to "knit me together". The place I was "fearfully and wonderfully made". Yet, though my bones were formed, my limbs grew, and my body was nourished by an unknown woman, HE knew. He knew exactly whose womb He chose to have me grow in. And after I was born, He knew exactly where I would continue to grow. You see I was adopted. Until I was four months old, I was a child without parents, living in foster care. Abandoned by a mother who I assume could not take care of me. But there were parents who were waiting and praying for me to be their own. Parents He chose.

I will tell you what my parents told me when I was a little girl. Actually,they told me all of my life, how much they wanted me. "Of all the babies in the world", they said, they chose me. In my own mind, as a young child, I imagined that my parents walked along a long corridor with all the young babies lined up in bassinets behind a large picture glass window. I could just imagine them walking slowly along, just a few steps at a time, until they spotted just the right baby. Then they stopped, pressing their faces up to the glass to get a closer look. They pointed me out to a masked angel, disguised as a nurse, who brought me over to the window as they shook their heads yes, yes, that's the one! That's the baby girl we came for!

Isn't that just what Christ did for us all. When the world says we are abandoned, orphaned, or destined for nothing, Christ Jesus,with outstretched wounded arms, peers down from the cross. I can almost see HIM scanning the faces of the crowd. Looking, looking until His eyes rest on you. Or me. Can't you just imagine the moment. When no more are you abandoned, or lost. Because He calls to you....Yes, yes, that's the one! That is the child I came for!

Praise HIM!

Ps. 139

Please pray

Mike Starnes, who many of you prayed for, passed away on Thursday afternoon. Please pray for his family. Thank you.

The Oreo

A friend came into the room I was sitting in this morning. Totally out of breath. I was almost afraid for her. She told me in sentences, broken with deep breaths, that she had just climbed a flight of stairs to try and get to church on time.

I was there just one short year ago. Explaining to others why my conversations were stilted. Why I couldn't walk up the stairs any more quickly. Why I couldn't play basketball with my son. It is amazing what extra weight does to our bodies. It is amazing that it took me so long to do something about it.

But here I am, one year later. Although this weight loss journey is FAR from over, I am closer than I could have imagined 13 months ago. Sometimes all it takes is to take the first step to health. The first day of healthy eating. The first moment of surrender.

Just over one year ago, I surrendered "oreo" cookies. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with those delicious creme filled chocolate cookies. But they were representative to me of all that was wrong with my diet. I tell you this, and you can laugh if you want, but in my spirit I heard the need to lay them on the altar. So I got off of the couch, where I had planted myself along with the cookies and milk, and physically put the package on the fireplace...the closest thing to anything resembling an altar in my home. I knelt before the Lord and surrendered to HIM. I couldn't do it my way any longer. And as my friend Lauren at Faith Fuel http://championyourdreams.blogspot.com/ writes: "He takes the white flag of surrender out of your hand, and in replacement,He puts His own Hand in yours. " What a beautiful picture!

Waving the white flag is not a sign of defeat to HIM, it is a request for victory. Victory in HIM. It is a sign of our hope in HIM. And in that hope, we are promised renewed strength.(Is.40:31) Please know that surrender, for me, is not a one-time event. It is part of my daily walk with HIM. I guarantee you that everytime I attempt to do this weight loss dance without HIM, I end up with egg (or is that ice cream) on my face and extra pounds in my pockets. But with our GOD, we can begin again. And I do.

Oh, I am so very thankful for HIS invitation to surrender. Grateful that His invitation is open to all. For I have learned that I am a winner when I walk in Christ's victory. And in HIS victory I am a loser....of pounds that is! Thank you Jesus! Praise HIM!

Please read the prayer request post below this post. Thank you!

Is 40:31: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Please pray

Please pray with me for this wonderful family. Visit their website where you will find their story.www.thelatestonmike.blogspot.com. Mike is our athletic director at the high school where I work. His wife, Diane is the daughter of a dear family in our church. I know you have seen GOD work HIS mighty hand in many ways. We are asking HIM to comfort, strengthen, and heal. What a God who hears our prayers! Praise HIM!

Pretty?

I saw a portion of an interview with Sylvester Stallone recently. Have you ever watched the original Rocky movie? I love the now famous scene as Rocky stands triumphantly raising his arms at the top of the stairs. Those Philadelphia stairs represent the epitome of Rocky's successful finish to his training. Running up them to the song, Gonna Fly Now. Can't you just see and hear it right now! Arms extended upward as he stood at the top. Looking over the city. Knowing that he was ready. This was a man waiting to be crowned boxing champion!

Contrast that to our Savior's finish. Dragged through the city. Beaten repeatedly. Derided. Nailed. Can you see it and hear it right now?Arms extended outward. Hanging from a cross at the top of Golgotha. Looking over the faces outside Jerusalem. Knowing that He was ready. This was a man/Savior ready to be crowned. "It is finished".

Living in obedience does not always have a pretty finish. Our work is not always tied up in 2 hours of reel with beautiful music playing in the backround. Sometimes it is hard. And dirty. And difficult. Like feeding the children amongst the refuse of years of yesterdays in faraway lands. Or working in the pits of medical facilties to make sure that the forgotten are fed and bathed. Or searching endlessly for a home for a weeping unwed mother whose family has abandoned her.

It doesn't appear so picture perfect. But HE did it. And He calls us to it too. Want to be His followers? Then expect to get a little dirty. It may not be pretty but it is the most beautiful thing you will ever do! And the rewards? They are eternal!

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

This I know

"Jesus loves me, this I know..... ". I had the pure and utter delight of listening to, and singing with, a group of 7 toddlers in Sunday school recently. And you know, when toddlers sing, they really SING. Raise the roof loud kind of singing. I wish that every one of you reading this could have been there. Loved it!

It is one of those moments to hang onto. The moment to remember when life doesn't sing. Like when the new sheet doesn't fit the mattress. Or when the spaghetti sauce adorns your new spring shirt. Or when your best laid plans are interrupted. Little things or big things. Whether it is a blip on the screen of your day or a life altering event, unexpected, unplanned, and even dreaded things happen in our lives.

There are not many things in this world that we can count on to be fitting, true, or lifelong. But this one thing I KNOW: Jesus loves me. And He loves you too!Isn't it wonderful to have that kind of surety. Isn't it wonderful to hear the voices of young children remind you of this truth! The God we serve, we can count on! Forever!

Exodus 6:7 "I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

1 John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. ..."

Praise HIM!

HE is risen!

The Treasure

I have a red-headed daughter who is now 22 years old. Oh, but just the blink-of-an-eye ago, she was a mere little angel girl. Like many little girls, my Ashley loved to dance. We enrolled her in a pre-tap class. I'll never forget her first recital at four years old. All dressed up in her turquoise satin and spandex outfit, accented with gold sequins, Ashley was ready to show us what she had practiced each week over the past year. We could not wait.

Large, bulky first generation video camera in hand, my husband and I joyously looked forward to filming her feat(or feet). Out came her class parading to the music. The dance began. And the shimmery gold sequins began flying off the costumes as the girls tapped away. Chuck panned the camera to make sure he got the entire class on film and then zeroed in on our own cutey pie. And there she was. Dancing? Why, NO. She was down on her hands and knees scraping up the fallen gold sequins. Scooping them up and tossing them back into the air. Having an absolute blast as we watched and wondered why we paid the lesson fees each month. Would have been a lot cheaper to hand her a bottle of shimmering sequins just to throw around! But Ash was happy as a lark! Our little red headed sweetheart had discovered gold while all her classmates continued to dance for the audience.

So maybe Ashley was right. Maybe we are all so busy dancing for the applause of man that we miss out on the real treasure. What a blast is in store for those who find it!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."