Author Archive

It started with a small purse – a place to hold my stuff so I could carry it with me wherever I went.  As I ran out of room in my purse, the solution was to get a bigger purse.  Eventually, I graduated to a much bigger purse, one that some would call a suitcase.  Then one day my back started to hurt.  Until a friend lifted my purse and made a comment about how heavy it was, it never occurred to me that there could be a relationship between carrying a heavy bag and my backache.  So I took an inventory of the contents of my purse and discovered I had things in there that I didn’t know I had and, much less, didn’t need.  My purse had become a holding place for useless baggage.  Once I dumped the useless baggage, my backache went away.

As I was cleaning out my purse, I realized that excess baggage is a lot like the personal burdens we tend to carry.  Burdens such as worry, fear, frustration, and doubt can weigh us down much like the excess baggage we carry in our physical purse.  The more we carry, the heavier our load.  In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Jesus is true to His word.  When I released my burdens into His hands, my load did indeed become light.  It was in that moment that I could truly feel His peace wash over me which allowed me to carry with me only that which I really need to get through each day – God’s grace.

Over the last few months the contents of my purse grew so I switched to a bigger purse.   Slowly and without realizing it, my back started hurting.   I cleaned out my purse and, again it feels so good!

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.  (Psalm 68:19) 

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1(NIV)

If I were to look into my future several years ago, I certainly would not have seen what I am today.  When my first marriage ended, I had a baby, two jobs, a trailer and endless bills inherited from the divorce.  Being a single mother was not in my plan.  But that’s what I was and I was determined to make the best of it.  My daughter and I were “two women of the 90s” and as long as we had each other, we had everything.  For 16 years it was just the two of us.  We laughed and cried together and we ate a lot of macaroni and cheese.

Back then, I would have assured you that I would never leave the security of my environment and that I would never re-marry.  I had everything under control.  Then I met the One who would ultimately become the love of my life and would turn my whole world upside down.  Yes, Jesus came into my life.  We took it slow for a long time.  After all, I was a woman of the 90s and there was no room for anyone except my little pumpkin.  And following a failed marriage and some really bad dates, I was not going to jump into a relationship.  Over the years Jesus taught me how I should be living my life.  He helped me learn how to say “no” and how to accept “no” for an answer.  He helped me raise my daughter, got me out of many scrapes, and gave me discernment and wisdom to prevent me from repeating mistakes.  And I think that sometimes He allowed me to make the same mistake twice to be sure I learned my lesson.  He was always home when I called Him and always available to talk.  He taught me that I could trust Him; even when I felt like I could trust no one, He would never let me down.  Little by little, as I let Him get closer to me, my wall of self protection began to dissolve. 

Then, one day, my little pumpkin reached adolescence.  The typical mother/daughter conflicts began over friends and curfews, boys and the car, household chores and rules, and just “whatever”.  It was during this time Jesus shared His sense of humor with me.  He told me to give Him my pumpkin.  I refused.  No one could have my baby.  I brought her into this world, and by golly, I was the only one who could take care of her.  But as she got older and more and more independent, I knew in my heart that Jesus was the only One who could give me the help I needed.  When I finally called on Him, it was His hands that reached for her.  Peace was restored to our house and although she and I still had some tense moments, I had a better sense of direction on how to handle them.  Putting my child into Hands I couldn’t see was the first real step of faith I took on my walk with Jesus. 

My faith has grown significantly since then.  God has called me to do some pretty scary things – like public speaking and playing the piano in church – two things that have terrified me in the past.  He once told me to stop dating someone for no apparent reason.  I later learned that with that person, I was headed down a very dangerous road.  Three years ago He put me to (what I thought at the time was) the ultimate test of faith and told me to get married.  But not just to anyone – to a pastor of all people!  Yes, God has quite a sense of humor. 

God calls us to do some seemingly crazy things.  Sometimes I think that the crazier the idea, the more sure I am that it’s coming from God.  God does not want us to carry dead weight that doesn’t or no longer serves His purposes.  He wants us to remove obstacles from our lives that take up room for Him to work within us and help us grow for His glory.  In John 15:1-2, Jesus tells us:  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (NIV)  Pruning our lives, as a gardener prunes the vines, allows God’s nutrients to feed what is important so that we can produce more fruit.  Producing fruit allows us to receive the abundant blessings and grace God so freely gives to us.

But we must remember that when we receive a call from God, whether seemingly practical or impractical, it requires prayer and discernment.  Answering God’s call requires trust, obedience, and genuine faith to step out of our comfort zones and into a place of uncertainty.  We can think with our heads, but we have to hear with our heart.  My favorite description of faith is found in the song, “That’s What Faith Must Be”, by Contemporary Christian singer and songwriter, Michael Card:

To hear with my heart
To see with my soul
To be guided by a hand I cannot hold
To trust in a way that I cannot see
That’s what faith must be

I have never regretted answering God’s calls, including marrying a pastor!  When God calls you to do something that you or others may question or even oppose, how will you respond?  Will you take that step of faith and trust God to work out the details?

The Heart of the Matter

Jeremiah 29:12-13 

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV)

I never knew about sea glass, or even heard of it, until I met Sherry.  We were talking about the beach and how we both enjoyed long walks along the surf.  She told me about sea glass – pieces of broken glass that are polished and smoothed as they tumble in the waves and the sand.  Eventually they end up on the shore among the thousands of shells that are brought in with the surf.   Funny, I thought.  All the times I have been to the beach and all the walks I have taken, I have never seen a piece of sea glass.

My husband and I spent a week at Cape Hatteras this year.  On my last day of work before vacation, Sherry’s parting words were, “Have a great time and bring home some sea glass!”  When asked how she finds so much sea glass, Sherry’s answer was very simple.  “Ask God to show it to you.”

After we settled into the rental house, we made our way over the dune to the beach; David with his fishing gear and me with my chair and book.  (I don’t fish.)  I stopped at the foot of the dune, closed my eyes and prayed, “Okay, God, show me some sea glass!”  When I opened my eyes and began approaching the surf I saw the most beautiful, emerald green sparkle I have ever seen…on the beach. SEA GLASS!  Sherry was right – I asked God to show it to me and He did!  Why was I so surprised?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (NIV)  Understand me, these verses do not mean God will grant us everything on our “wish list”.   What they are telling us is that if we seek God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), then everything else will fall into place. Seek an intimate relationship with Jesus.  Pray, listen, study and seek to know His Word, intimately.  Our heart’s desire for God must be greater than our heart’s desire for what is on our wish list.  God knows our heart.  When we earnestly seek God’s will for our lives and strive to live our lives according to His Word, putting nothing before Him, then we are seeking Him with all our heart.

Look into your heart and there you will find God.  He is that close.  And the next time you go to the beach, ask Him to show you some sea glass. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NIV)

Have you ever referred to someone or some situation as an EGR…Extra Grace Required? In the course of our daily lives, we deal with a variety of situations and people. Some examples are traffic, deadlines at work, relationships, co-workers, an unruly customer, perhaps even a family member or a fellow church member. Sometimes we have to deal with certain personalities that we find difficult or challenging. Sometimes we find ourselves in frustrating situations that leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. During these times of testing, we may find ourselves asking God for “a little extra grace.”

Not long ago, my husband and I experienced a rather stressful weekend. Nothing terribly bad actually happened, we just had a series of unexpected situations that caused us to refocus and tend to some additional household chores we had not planned to do. Both of us were especially tired and just wanted to relax, read a book and maybe get a little extra sleep. However, that was not to be and throughout the weekend, I found myself praying silently and frequently for “a little extra grace.” That Sunday, my husband preached on grace from 2 Corinthians 12.

In 2 Corinthians 12:6-8 Paul writes: “Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.”  As I listened to that sermon I was reminded of various situations over the years in which I had to face many thorns – many with names. I remembered how many times I would pray for God to remove me, or sometimes them, from the situation so I wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. But the truth is we will always have difficult people or situations that we must face. That’s just life. And it is only by the grace of God that we can face our difficulties. In his sermon, my husband made the point that God may or may not remove our thorns, but He will always give us the grace to deal with them.

Who, or what, are your thorns? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  I have found great comfort in this verse. And as I reflect on my prior thorns and the outcome of each situation, I realize that God did indeed give me sufficient grace to deal with each situation – usually without removing anyone. I have to be honest that I don’t eagerly welcome thorns in my life, but I know they are there and will continue to surface. I do however, praise God for how He uses me in these difficult situations and know that I am strengthened by His grace.

And let’s remember to extend a little extra grace to each other, too. After all, Jesus died for all of us – even the EGRs.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Fishing is a strange past-time and not one that I particularly enjoy.  I could never (and still don’t) understand the attraction.  You run a hook through something gross like a bug or a worm and cast the line into the water. Then you wait.  And wait.  And wait.  It could take hours, but what’s the rush?  Eventually, (hopefully) a fish will bite, but when it does, you don’t reel it in immediately.  You want to be sure the fish gets a good hold on the hook so you don’t miss the opportunity and lose “the big one”.  You watch the action of the line so that at just the right moment, you set the hook.  Then you may need to “play” the fish to tire him down and make sure he doesn’t break the line.  Fishing requires a lot of patience.  I am not a very patient person.  Maybe that’s why I never catch any fish. 

 But let’s face it – we live in an impatient, demanding society.  When we want something, we want it now!  I recently moved to a small, very rural town.   After having many of the luxuries of the fast paced big city, I was suddenly forced to slow down.  One of the hardest adjustments for me was having to revert to dial-up internet.  I was not used to waiting 20 minutes for my e-mail to open.  I simply could not function without high-speed internet. 

We are expectant people.  We expect immediate gratification – even from God.  We pray for something, but do we really give Him a chance to answer?  Do we really take the time to wait and discern what He is trying to tell us?  Far too often, my impatience has lead to hasty decisions that have come back to bite me.  And I don’t mean by a fish!

The Bible teaches us to pray and to wait patiently for the Lord.  From Psalm 37:5-7 we learn: Commit your way to the LORD;  trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,  the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…(NIV)

Jesus waited for 30 years before beginning his public ministry. (Luke 3:23) Then, God told him to go to the desert where he not only waited a little longer, but was tempted by Satan for 40 days. (Matt. 4:1-2)

Prayer is two-way communication with God.  We have the talking part down pat, but we also need to be quiet and listen with a sensitive ear – not so we can respond the way we want to, but so that we can hear what God is saying to us.  Psalm 32:8 provides a very clear message from God:  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”   I can hear God adding: But only if you will stop long enough to listen to me and let me help you!

Shouldn’t we all have the patience of a fisherman?  Cast a line to God and wait for Him.  Unlike fish, He guarantees He will bite.  The only way to know God’s leading, to hear His voice, is to listen and wait. 

My favorite time of the day is early in the morning – before anyone else wakes up and the usual noises of the day begin.  I especially love to sit on my front porch, with a cup of coffee, of course!  I love to close my eyes and feel the warmth of the sun on my face.  I love to listen to the silence, the singing birds, a bee buzzing, the trees rustling in the gentle breeze.  I love to see the beauty of a springtime morning – the crystal blue sky, the lush green of the grass and the trees, the colorful flowers. Don’t speak – just listen.  Listen to what God has to say.  See what God has created.  Claim His grace and peace. 

“Be still and know that I am God”

Psalm 46:10

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things

 God works for the good of those who love Him,

 who have been called according to his purpose.

Some days are just spent tumbling.  Tumbling between deadlines, responsibilities, obligations, wants, desires;  tumbling by family and friends; tumbling by supervisors, coworkers, peers;  tumbling in difficult relationships;  tumbling financially;  tumbling over and over and over, hoping to land in a safe, solid, still place.

Sea glass is found on beaches along oceans or large lakes;  it has been tumbled and smoothed by the water and sand, creating small pieces of smooth, frosted glass. It originates from bottles and jars that get tossed on the shore, broken, then tumbled smooth by the waves, rocks sand and currents.  Often is takes years of tumbling in ocean waves, softening the sharp edges of broken glass before it is spotted on the shoreline, a water-drenched piece of sea glass standing out like a shiny, glistening jewel.

Tumbling isn’t comfortable, but God reminds me that He’s working in us while we’re tumbling in this world.  God uses the tumbling to make me beautiful, to make me softer, to make me polished, to make me stronger than before.  So now, when I’m tumbling in a wave of seemingly unreasonable demands and crazy deadlines, I remember that God is using all of it to make me a beautiful, glistening jewel.  With my eyes on Him, tumbling isn’t so bad.

Grace and Peace!

 And after you suffer for a short time,

God, who give all grace, will make everything right.

  He will make you strong and support you

 and keep you from falling.

  He called you to share in His glory in Christ,

 a glory that will continue forever.

1 Peter 5:10

And we know that in all things

 God works for the good of those who love him,

 who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

God is not a human being, and He will not lie.

 He is not a human, and He does not change His mind.

 What He says He will do, He does.

 What He promises, He makes come true.

Numbers 23:19

 God makes everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Grace, Peace and Coffee to you!