Israel was complaining.
Again.
They were thirsty.
They were sick of the food God had provided for them.
They grumbled that God had brought them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness.
Nothing was going right.
Everything was wrong. With them, with Moses, with where they were and what they were doing.
And they let it be known that they were unhappy.
Again.
(Is this sounding familiar to anyone besides me?)

God sent them a message.
Vipers in the camp.
SNAKES.
Where they lived.
The snakes bit the people and people died. Lots of people died.

Israel got the message and they asked Moses to intercede with God for them. They admitted and confessed their sin and asked God to remove the vipers.

But God didn’t take them away.
Instead He told Moses to make a bronze serpent, mount it on a pole and hang it high where it could be seen. God told Moses, “it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” (Numbers 21:8b NAS)

God heard the people and He answered their prayers.
Just not how they wanted.
They wanted the consequences...
the problem
the pain
the danger
GONE.
Wiped out. Eliminated.
After all, they confessed their sin and repented. An immediate resolution would have been nice.

But God didn’t do that. There were consequences to their sin. Lingering, painful and potentially deadly consequences. The vipers were not removed from their camp. In fact, the vipers still bit the people.

If it were me I’d be begging… But God, I told You I was sorry! I repented. I quit complaining and got my attitude taken care of. Why are these vipers still here? Why are we…why am I still being bitten by snakes?

There are consequences to our actions.
Always.
God doesn’t just sweep them all away when we come running back to Him. Sure, He may sometimes, but more often than not, He doesn’t and we have to live with those consequences.

The Israelites wanted a quick fix—the removal of the problems brought on by their sin. Instead God gave them an antidote for their problems. FAITH. When the people were bitten they were to look at the bronze serpent on the pole and have FAITH that God would take care of them and heal them. They had to take their focus off their problem and off their pain and look to God in faith.

That antidote is still valid today.
But we need to let go of our stubbornness and pride and turn our attention to Jesus.
We need to take our focus off our problems and pain and focus on the antidote: Jesus.
It takes faith.

God didn’t leave Israel to die in the wilderness. He provided for them and brought them into the Promised Land.

As His children, God won’t leave us. He’s given us that promise.
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:6-8 NASB

When it comes to dealing with consequences, we need to take our eyes off our problems and look to Jesus. Focus on Him and Him alone. He goes with us and He will not fail us nor forsake us.

In my post Face the If I mentioned how Wilda Mathews was caught in the trap of 'if onlys' on Easter Sunday 1952, deep in the heart of Communist China. A year later, as Easter rolled around again, she was determined that it wouldn't be another black day for her. She started studying the resurrection story and resurrection life, and when she came to Peter's part she felt condemned.

She had not said, 'I know Him not' but she had no joy. She was not bitter, but she was frustrated and restless. Her opportunity to witness to the Chinese eyes around them that she did know the Lord and that He was satisfying her drought—had she shown that? If not, wasn't that denying the Lord before man?

As I've read that many times now, I'm constantly convicted by it. Am I joyfully living? Like Wilda, I'm not bitter, but I've certainly been frustrated and restless at times. Can others see that Christ is not just meeting my needs, but fulfilling me, too? That His Life is flowing through me? Would others see my green leaves even though my life might be in the biggest drought yet to face me?

Two months later, Wilda's husband, Arthur, came to a similar conclusion. He had been reading Ephesians 5:10 and asked her what she thought was “well-pleasing to the Lord in these our experiences?” As they talked it over, Wilda was able to share with him her Easter lesson:

Not to receive it joyfully was to deny the Lord before men...A few nights later it came to Arthur like a flash: the Son had left Heaven, not submitting to the will of God, but delighting in it. Up to now they had been submitting; rather feverishly submitting...

The Son had left Heaven, not submitting to the will of God, but delighting in it.

In a letter home, Arthur wrote this about all they had learned:
Just to say submission to the will of God did not seem to go deep enough, for we had been trying for a long time to do just that. If you had a servant you would expect submission from him, just as you would from an old bullock with a yoke on its neck. But as sons surely there was something more than that.

...So as we uncovered the earth we could see that our prayers had selfishly centered around the shortening of the days...There was none of the recklessness of faith such as the three friends of Daniel showed. Nor was there the spirit of joyous abandonment which the widow displayed in giving her two mites.

So we came to see that God wanted us to will with Him to stay put; not to desire to run away as quickly as we could persuade Him to let us...The great chords that sounded through our hearts as we touched the Joyously Abandoned keys were really thrilling...

So we are no longer stupid bullocks being driven or dragged unwillingly along a distasteful road; but sons, co-operating wholeheartedly with our Father...

The yoke is LIGHT only as it is TAKEN, and not as it is suffered.

Simple submission is not enough. Delighting in doing God's will, in living out the will of God for your life, is where the great joy is.

I haven't mentioned here all the things the Mathews lived with, and without during their years of waiting to be released from China, but their living conditions were such that the Chinese Christians pitied them. But was there a purpose for all that God asked of this missionary couple? Yes, there was a tremendous purpose! Here's how Isobel Kuhn wrote it:

The message above all others which the Chinese church needed was to see that truth lived out under circumstances equally harrowing as their own.

Arthur and Wilda had longed to serve Him; but humanlike they had put their own interpretation on what service is. They thought it meant preaching with their lips. Amy Carmichael once replied to a Tamil Christian who took this meaning of service: 'God didn't make you all mouth.' The most potent way to preach is by life, by living it. This was the service which the Mathews family were to render to Him.

The message of this chapter has been running through my mind for two weeks, now, and the affect it's had on me is deep.

Being joyously abandoned to God's will is where I want to be.


Italicized parts of this post are direct quotations from Green Leaf in Drought by Isobel Kuhn, chapter 8.
This is a repost from October 2008.

“Why didn't you call me? I would've helped.” It's something I've said many times to my kids, especially the teens. But instead of calling me, they muddle through the problem, often making a bigger mess. I've done the very same thing, many more times than my kids have. (Hey, I'm lots older than are.) It's safe to say, this is nothing new. In fact, Ahaz, king of Judah, the southern tribes of Israel, did this too. (2 Kings 16)

Ahaz's enemies were crouching and crowding his borders. Things were not looking good at all when the prophet Isaiah met Ahaz with a personal message from God. God assured him the threats would not come to pass and told him to ask for a sign for assurance. Here's what Ahaz had to say, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!” (Isaiah 7:1-12)


The Lord God was ready to fight for His people, again, 
but Ahaz said No thank you!

Instead, he turned around and asked his enemy for help. He closed and raided the Temple and sent some of the Temple treasures to the king of Assyria (who had defeated Judah) and asked him to fight those enemies who were threatening Ahaz. The king of Assyria was happy to comply. He took the gift, fought those enemies, then turned around and made things even worse for Judah by inserting his vile god in their midst. (2 Chron 28:16-22) It was due to idolatry that Israel and Judah both were taken into captivity.

Yanno, we have similar situations as Ahaz.

• We have God's promised presence and help. The Lord is the one who goes with you; He will be with youl He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deut. 31:8 NAS
• We have the same choice—turn to God and ask for His help, or turn elsewhere. We even have the choice to turn to the enemy.
• We have the same consequences for not turning to God. Captivity in enemy territory.

The Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
~2 Chron 15:2

So tell me, who ya gonna call?

I love spring. One of the things I love is seeing all the daffodils blooming in the middle of nowhere. They were planted generations ago by ladies who loved beauty, and those flowers are still there--still blooming each and every spring.

Those ladies still have an impact on the world. They're still making this a beautiful place to live, even though they're no longer here to enjoy it or even nurture it. That's what I want for my life. I want to leave lasting beauty for those coming after me. How do I do that? By planting flower bulbs? I could. But it only takes one pass of a tractor or bulldozer to bring their beauty to an end.

Those daffodils remind me that I need to be planting seeds for eternity. Seeds that can grow, bloom and multiply long after I'm gone. Those are blooms that will last forever, not just for a season.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ~Matthew 6:19-21 NAS

God has given each one of us work to do in our life, with our life. We need to fulfill that calling to the best of our ability. Whether we're in the task-force, ministry, or at home full-time, we're to be a light shining brightly to those around us. A flower that blooms in unlikely places, pointing others to Christ. Always pointing to Jesus.

If we're obeying God, we're planting for eternity. Well, let me rephrase that. There are many times my husband asks me to do something, and I'll do it...eventually. I'll do it...grudgingly. I'll do it...muttering the whole time. I'll do it...with a rotten attitude. Sure, it's obedience, but... It's like if my husband were to pick a bouquet of flowers, and before giving it to me, squishing each bloom in his fist.

It takes more than obedience to plant for eternity. Jesus said that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it won't bear fruit (John 12:24). In order for us to bear fruit for eternity, we need to deny ourselves and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). Denying ourselves is when the seed dies. That's when planting for eternity starts.


That is planting for eternity. Seeds that will produce lasting beauty. Beauty that blooms in our lives and also that will reach beyond us to the generations coming after us. We are to live beautiful lives so that our sons and grandsons might fear the Lord. (Duet 6:1-2)

That kind of life will produce results that bear fruit and bloom even after we're gone--just as those daffodils bloom long after their planters have died. We don't know the planters' names, but what's important is that they planted the flowers and we're still reaping the benefits and beauty of them. That's what we're looking for in our lives, too.

The beauty of a life lived for Christ. 
That's truly lasting beauty. 

When I looked out the window awhile ago, this is what I saw.


The trees where shining. The sun had peeked through the heavy clouds and was making all the ice encrusted trees glisten. It was beautiful, especially with all the dark, stormy weather we've been having.

But yanno, the sun often peeks out and shines on the trees like it did. What made it so noticeable and beautiful was the coating of ice on each and every branch and twig. The ice that was a big part of the storm. The ice that was weighing down the tree limbs and rattling with every hint of a breeze. Without the ice there would have been little beauty—just winter trees in a patch of sunshine.

So often when storms overtake our lives we cry out because of the ice that seems to coat us and weigh us down. When a breeze goes past we rattle, thinking only of uncomfortable and heavy the ice is. Yet when others look at us they may see the radiance of the Son shining off us and through us. Sometimes we need the ice to reflect the Son.

Heavenly Father, help us keep our eyes so fixed on You that when the ice comes into our lives we wait eagerly for the Sonshine so we can sparkle and dance for you. Help us to accept the ice and shine for You so that beauty can come from the storms. In Your Son's Name, amen.

I've still been mulling over Shallowness in my life, and it's brought me to another -ness.

Brokenness.

Can a person be truly broken when their life is on Easy Street? God delights in a broken and contrite heart yet so often we (okay, I) think brokenness comes with trials and “bad” things in our lives. But I think you can be on Easy Street and still be broken before God, just like you can be in great trials and not be broken before God.

Brokenness is a heart condition.

Everything can be going well, in fact, I think you can be in a stage of your life when you're realizing your goals and when dreams are coming true and still be broken before God. God doesn't say a broken life pleases Him.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. ~Psalm 51:17

When our heart's attitude is one of complete dependence on Him,
when we see that without Him we can do nothing,
when we realize that our weaknesses set the stage for His strength,
God is glorified in and through us.

Life can be routine and seemingly have nothing special going on or coming up, but we can be on our knees, broken before God. It's a heart attitude and a head attitude. It's not false false humility—pride masquerading as humility, but true humility before God, regardless of who sees you, or doesn't see you.

Lord, please take me, break me and make me into a vessel You can use for Your glory.

Other posts in this series:
Shallowness
Smoothness
Freshness

Here's a YouTube we watched with our kids about bad things that happen in our lives.



Months ago we watched another clip with Nick (the man in this clip) and loved it. It was inspiring and touching and really made you think...then to hear this one and hear his faith. Wow. I loved the train analogy he used.

Recently my husband asked me to do a few things, and I have to admit that my response wasn't too good. There’s nothing glorious nor grand about wiping down cupboards, washing ceiling fan fixtures and especially about scrubbing hard water marks out of toilets, but they are things that need to be done, and they do fall into the things I'm responsible for. You see, I have a Naaman complex.

Naaman was angry because the prophet Elisha wouldn’t even come out to speak to him, and he was a great, important man. Too many times I get caught up in my own importance, which is truly laughable because I’m not great, nor important, to anybody except maybe my family. Just like Naaman, I tend to stand there and sputter and fume about why I need to do such menial tasks.

So Naaman raced away in his chariot. Thankfully he had wise servants who helped him see how silly he was being and the result was that he went to the Jordan River. Did he quit when he saw no results after going under six times? If he had, he would’ve died a leper. Did he understand why it had be seven times? Did he moan about seven? Did he try to bargain it down to five? The Bible just says he dipped himself seven times as he was instructed to. Like Naaman, I don’t need to know why, I just need to obey, without moaning or bargaining.

For Naaman, it came down to complete obedience. He had faith, why else would he have undertaken such a long journey? But faith without obedience would have left him a leper. I have faith, but if I don’t obey God my faith will grow cold.

For the Christian, the secret to our spiritual growth lies in obedience. That means being faithful in the multitude of little things because it’s through obeying in the mundane and menial things, that we learn faithfulness for the bigger things. If I won't do the simple things my husband has asked me to do, things that make perfect sense to me, will I do the things God asks me to do--things that make no sense to me?

Even though I may start like Naaman did, fuming and raging because things aren’t going as I expected and because I’ve been asked to do some things that I don't want to do, I'm going to make sure I end like Naaman did: faithfully obeying.

Naaman's account is found in 2 Kings 5:1-14.
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I was scrolling through my index recently and noticed this post--one of my early ones here at Patterings. It really snagged my attention, so I thought I'd post it again since it's something I needed hear.

We also have a winner today! Last week Darlene Franklin was with us and the winner of her new release, Wild West Christmas is Charity! Thanks so much for being with us, Darlene! It was a treat. =)

Ay yi yi! What a weekend it was and today was the crowning jewel. Oh. my. goodness. This weekend snowballed on me, like weekends do to all of us occasionally—not a big deal, just more going on than I anticipated, with a twist thrown in there for fun. *eye roll*

But before something else comes up in my day, the winner of Erica Vetsch's book, The Bartered Bride, which is an EXCELLENT book (I'm reading in every spare moment I have, which hasn't been much this weekend!! *rats*) is Karen K. You're gonna love it, Karen! I know I sure am! =]

And our winner for Maggie Woychik's book, I Run to the Hills is Jean Fischer. Use the Email Me button in the side bar and send me your addresses ladies. =]

Then this morning started with this...

This is almost 5 gallons of broken glass from the window beside my computer area. The seal on the thermal pane broke and my dear hubster changed the window out...which meant taking in out (thank God for storm windows!) and breaking the glass to get it out of the frame.

He was also trying to repair the window on his work van, which refused to go up and down. So his van door is disassembled and we learned we need to take it in for the part to be installed--which is unusual because normally my hub can repair almost everything. So that was two windows in the works first thing this morning.

This weekend, when we could, we worked on doing those last few things before the weather turns nasty again and stays that way for the winter, and the result of that was this:

This is the side window of my 15 passenger van as it looked this morning. Of course we didn't discover it until my daughter closed the back doors this morning and the window sagged out of the van. (Quite startling for her! LoL) It was completely shattered.

Yup, that's me reflected in the window, and if you check out just under my fingers on the right side of the picture, you'll see the root of our shattered window: a little bitty spot where a stone hit...a half an inch from the very edge of the window. We figure it happened while the guys were weed-eating yesterday. Gotta love it.

You know, even with a snowballed weekend and a day that has gone NOTHING like I planned, and even 'needed' it to go, God is still in control. He's still good! As I stood looking at my van and adding up the cost of that big side window and my hubster's window and the other window in my dining room that needs fixing, I happened to look at the glass around the tire of my van.

The sun was glinting off the shattered safety glass making it look like jewels. That's what God does with the broken and shattered pieces of our lives. He makes them glitter like precious jewels when He shines on them.

Our brokenness glitters for His glory if we just let Him shine on the shattered pieces.

That's been my day...How's your day been?

Bad things happen. There is no disputing that. But when bad things happen to good people we often wonder what in the world is going on. I'm sure the people in Jeremiah's time did too.

The prophets were all saying wonderful things, but Jeremiah wasn't. He was telling them that God had forsaken the people of Israel. Then Nebuchadnezzar carried a portion of the people off to captivity: a bad thing for those captives. They were pulled from their homes and families and carted off. This was bad! But God had a special purpose for that bad situation.

“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.'” ~Jeremiah 24:5-6 NAS

God used their captivity, their bad situation, to save them while He sent even worse consequences to those who were left in the seemingly better circumstances. Those in captivity were watched over by God. The others were abandoned.

When bad things happen, they happen for a purpose. God gave the captives “a heart to know Me.” He wanted them to draw near to Him and get to know Him better and He blessed them with a heart that wanted to know Him and He made them His people in heart, not just in name.

Does the same thing happen today? You betcha. How many times have we heard, seen and experienced God working through bad things?

When I was 16 I started playing basketball and I loved it. Totally loved it. I worked hard and it paid off. I quickly made it to the starting string and continued improving. But God had other things in mind. He knew what was going through my mind and how basketball—sports--was shaping me and my plans for the future, and it seems He had something else in mind. So He sent 'bad things'. And those bad things saved me.

See, I ended up with Guillan Barre, which kills your nerve endings. When your nerve endings die, your muscles atrophy and when your muscles atrophy, you can't walk well. Have you ever tried playing basketball when what's left of your muscles don't get the message to move? It doesn't work.

While I watched my teammates and friends play ball, I grew closer to God. He made Himself real to me and I learned more of His nature and love for me. I didn't go into teaching like I was thinking, and it's a good thing since it would have driven me to sheer lunacy. I also didn't go into physical or occupational therapy like I was toying with, and that's good too since I never would have made it there either. Instead I went to Moody Bible Institute and took some great Bible classes and met my husband and here I am, doing what I do.

God used a bad thing in my life to bring about the big benefits of knowing Him better and directing my life.

When bad things are happening and it feels like we're being sent into captivity, let's look around for God. He likes to work through bad things for our benefit.

For Fiction Friday...
The cage jerked and began moving. Cindy's heart pounded. “Lord, what have I gotten myself into?”

Across from her, Heather laughed nervously and Gram patted her hand. “Did I ever tell you that your grandfather wanted to propose on a ferris wheel but was afraid he'd drop the ring? Even after 45 years, he's a romantic at heart.”

The cage rocked gently as it rose higher and higher, and Cindy's knuckles grew whiter and whiter. When they were at the highest point her fingernails were chalk white and she was quietly gasping for breath. Below her she could see people walking around with their cotton candy, but that was all she had time to see before her stomach started rolling and twisting. Panic was beginning to set in.

A squeak from her daughter drew her attention. Heather was white as a ghost. The mother in Cindy kicked in. She focused on what her mother said. “I never knew that, Mom.”

“Gramp and I have always loved ferris wheels, but when he saw his idea wouldn't work he took me to the lookout point. It was the highest point we could get to.” Gram smiled nostalgically but Cindy hardly noticed, as she was too relieved to be on the way down. The lower they went the more color seeped back into her knuckles and once they were near the bottom she pulled each finger from its stranglehold on the seat. She shook them out and rested them in her lap, but that only lasted until they began going up again. When they were half way to the top her hands were clamped back on the seat.

“It's crazy to be this scared,” Cindy said. “I know I'm safe, so why am I so afraid?”

Her mother laughed. “Did you forget you're afraid of heights? Oh, not little heights, only the big ones, like this.” She waved her fingers around her head. “Looking far in the distance helps. Heather, do you think we can see Kincaid's barn from up here?” Heather frantically looked for it and as she did she seemed to relax a little, even though they were just past the highest point.

Cindy, who sat facing them, had her eyes fixed on the parking lot she could see in the distance. She noted the kind of trees that surrounded it and the trolley winding through the rows of cars. The farther out she looked, the less her heart raced.

“You know, riding a ferris wheel is a lot like trusting God.” Gram said as they slowly went down. “Oh look, there's Millie Hunter, from church. Wave, girls, maybe she'll see us.” They managed small waves and Gram beamed when Millie waved back.

“How is riding a ferris wheel like trusting God, Mom?” Cindy's heart was speeding up again and she was thankful for the distraction.

“Well, like you said, you're safe on here, even though you don't feel safe. It kind of feels like you're hanging out in the middle of nowhere, doesn't it?” Their faces turned whiter. “But you really aren't,” Gram hastened to add. “There's plenty of safety features on these things and they inspect them every day. Oh, look, Heather!” Gram pointed. “There's Kincaid's barn! Can you see it?”

“Yeah, I see it! It's even big from up here, Mom. Next to that big barn, their house sure is small!” In her excitement Heather had forgotten to be scared as they rounded the top.

“There. You see? When you get your eyes off where you are, and look around, you can see so much. Fear blinds you to the really wonderful things in life.” Gram reached over and gave Heather a squeeze.

Cindy sighed in relief as they went lower. “But, Mom, how is this like trusting God?”

“Oh dear, did I forget that part?” Gram laughed. “If you're safe on a ferris wheel, don't you think you're even safer tucked in God's hand? You might as well just relax, trust God and look around, knowing He's got it all under control. Don't let fear blind you and you'll see the most spectacular things. You'll see God working and then you'll see where you can jump in and work with Him. You may end up in places you never thought you'd go to, and do things you thought you couldn't, but with God holding you you'll be safe with Him. Trusting God really is the ride of your life.”

“...He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.”
~Deuteronomy 32:10-11 (NIV)

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I wrote this one shortly after visiting California Adventureland with my family and parents. We had a great time--but I hafta admit, the ferris wheel was...um...scary. There's a lot of truth to this story mixed in with the fiction. LoL

Next Tuesday, August 8th, we kick off our Back 2 School Book Bonanza and there will be 3 author spotlights and book giveaways each week. Thursdays are nonfiction day, so that will be a treat for us. Be sure to join us then!

I spent this last week working on a project that just would not gel. I worked and worked and all but banged my head on the keyboard, and still couldn't get it right. It was frustrating—to the extreme. Finally, with my back pressing the deadline, I poured it all out before God again, and went to help make supper. That night happened to be my hubster's specialty—fried chicken strips and gravy. It's one of our favorite meals and the whole family pitches in to get it on the table. After prepping the milk and flour for the gravy I got to wash dishes, and I was so thankful for the mindless busy-work.

As I washed the dishes I talked with God about the project He'd given to me. I knew that, if left on my own, I was sunk, but I also knew I wasn't on my own in this. With my hands busy in dishwater, I tossed ideas around in my head as I prayed. And God came through. He gave me the idea I needed to provide the framework for my project.

It reminds me of the children of Israel when they left Egypt behind. They were caught between a rock and a hard place. Their back was against the Red Sea and Pharaoh was pressing down on them hard and fast. If left on their own they were sunk, but they weren't on their own. The Lord Almighty was with them and He parted the Red Sea.

As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord... But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for your today...The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” ~Exodus 14:10, 13-14

God put Israel in a situation where they could do nothing to help themselves. They were in a spot where they would know beyond all doubt that it was He who delivered them. God used that experience to assure them of His care and presence and to strengthen their faith in Him.

Guess what? This is what He did with me this week. When I was in the spot where there would be absolutely no doubt in my mind concerning just who it was that rescued me and gave me the idea, God came through. He parted my Red Sea and gave me dry land to cross on. Just like it was the Lord who saved Israel, it was the same Lord that saved me. And like Israel, I've been singing to the Lord ever since.

I will sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted...
The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will extol Him.
~Exodus 15:1-2

So how about you? Is your back pressing against the Red Sea as an army storms ever closer to you? When you're in a spot where there's no doubt about where your deliverance comes from, get ready to march 'cuz our God is never, ever late. In His time He'll part that Red Sea and when He does, get out your tambourines and dance! This is my God, and I will praise Him!

This week's winner of Linore Rose Burkard's book The House in Grosvenor Square is LaDonna!


Coming up this week on Tuesday and Wednesday is an interview with Ruth Axtell Morren.


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My husband is very health conscious and our mornings start with Green Goo, which is, roughly, a liquefied salad. We throw all kinds of healthy veggies in the VitaMix and let her roll. Then we slurp down our green shakes. But there's a trick to drinking them. First, you skim the foam off the top then, once you start drinking, you don't stop until it's gone. You open wide and let 'er slide. It really doesn't taste bad at all, but a glassful is a lot to drink when it's green! Often when we're done we sport green mustaches. (Which easily tells me they drank their goo or not.)

Living in a house full of kids has made those green mustaches fun. It's also made me think. Can others tell when I've spent time with God, reading His Word and praying?

It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablet of the testimony were in Moses' hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. ~Exodus 34:29

Do I glow like Moses did after He came down from Mt. Sinai? Do I even sport a small mustache like I do after drinking my Green Goo? Because Jesus is in me, there is a difference in my life—but can those around me see it?

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. ~Matthew 5:16

This is what I need to do—let my light shine. No quickly wiping off the green mustache and hiding the evidence after spending time with Him, but rather letting that glow shine on others.

That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. ~Psalm 83:18

...it's something we all do. Especially me.

This last week I ran in circles. Circles that I didn't have time for. Circles that made me dizzy and my knees knock. I spent the week thinking and praying. In that order. Big mistake.

This morning when I sat down for my Bible reading I turned to the next reference on my list (I'm reading through chronologically) while asking God to direct me. My mind was full of seeking God's will, and here's what I read:
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and let your heart take courage;
yes, wait for the Lord. ~Psalm 27:14

Did I mention that the circles I was running in terrifies me? When I read Psalm 27:14 I was struck all over again by it (this is a favorite verse of mine).
Wait.
Take courage.
Wait.
I'm not a patient person. I tend to leap before I look and then scream all the way down. I do NOT want to do that this time. So, once again, I followed my trail of verses on this topic. (Isn't God good!! He knew I needed to be directed to that verse and that wait/take courage topic today.)

I still don't know if I should leap, but that's not the issue any longer and I have peace. All the Psalms I read this morning were from the time when David was fleeing Saul. David knew he was God's chosen and anointed king, but he didn't rush and snatch the throne. He waited for God's timing and God taught him great things during those years. That's what I want. God's timing for doing God's work—whatever that work is.

As I continued to follow my trail I was directed to Psalm 25:3, but I ended up on verses 4-5. “Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.”

I'm claiming those verses especially as I wait and seek (and take courage). But not just those. As I continued on with my reading schedule I was directed to Psalm 31. I tell ya, God is so good!

For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me. ~Psalm 31:3

God WILL lead me. I have His word on that. I don't need to worry about it. I don't need to run in circles. For His name's sake He will lead me.
Thank You, Father God!

The first two kings of Israel were chosen by God and anointed by Samuel. Neither man was looking for honor, let alone looking to be a king. Both men were going about their father's business. Saul was searching for his father's donkeys and David was tending his father's sheep. Sounds rather everydayish to me.

When Samuel anointed Saul king in I Samuel 10, he also gave him very specific signs as confirmation from God—right down to how many loaves of bread and young goats men would be carrying and the specific instruments the prophets would have along. God made it abundantly clear to Saul that it was He who had chosen him as king. He gave Saul solid evidence of His hand.

But Saul, as he was, wasn't ready to be king. God took care of that detail, too.

The the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.
~I Samuel 10:6

That phrase jumped off the page to me—and be changed into another man. God equipped Saul to assume a king's responsibilities just God enabled those chosen to judge Israel before Saul's reign.

God doesn't choose those who are qualified
...He qualifies those He chooses.

How many of us have stood before God with our knees knocking and said, 'I can't do that!'? If God calls you to do something He will enable you to do it! Rest in that.

Even after God confirmed His anointing, Saul slips back into his everyday life. When Samuel calls the people together to choose a king, and Saul is chosen, the man is hiding in with the luggage. We do the same thing! God chooses us for a task, and we say 'I can't!' and then run and hide, forgetting, or refusing to believe, that God will enable us to do what He has called us to.

When it was time for Saul to step up, it says “God's Spirit fell on Saul” and he was able to rally the people and lead them as a king. God enabled him to do what he had been called to do. God does the same for us.

He will enable you to do what He called you to do!
Rest in that knowledge
and get to work.

He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 1:6

Last night was our first 'performance' of this year's Easter presentation—and as I fully expected, it was wonderful. All the details that took so many hours to arrange flowed seamlessly, allowing the message to shine through with beauty and power.

This year, as I've been studying, I've been impressed with Mary—not just one Mary, but the trio of Marys that we read about in the Gospels: Mary--the mother of Jesus, Mary--Martha's sister, and Mary Magdalene. I cannot imagine the anguish those women experienced so many years ago! To see the Man they loved so much suffer as Jesus did...and yet they never left Him. They were there when He was on the cross, they followed when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus carried His body to the tomb so they would know where He was buried, and they were the first ones to know that He had risen.

Last night I found myself wondering how it was for them on that Sabbath before He rose from the grave. Even though Nicodemus had helped wrap His body with burial spices and linen, the women hadn't been able to prepare Jesus' body for burial. Everything they would've done, and wanted to do, for Jesus in His death, they'd had to put on hold for the Passover Sabbath.

What was going through their hearts and minds on that day as they waited? Grief! Discouragement? Disillusionment? The Bible doesn't say, but I wonder.

The Gospels record for us that the women were at the tomb before first light on that first Easter Sunday and that they had spices for Jesus' body. They didn't know how they would move the stone away from the entrance of the tomb, but they went.

Their faithfulness in the midst of tremendous grief is such a testimony to me! It's been convicting. Am I faithful when I don't understand why things have happened as they have?
Am I faithful when I'm so discouraged I can hardly lift my head?
Am I faithful when I can't stop the tears from flowing?

Those women were not only faithful, they were active in their faith. They were still serving Jesus through their confusion, through their discouragement and through their deep grief.

Oh, Lord Jesus, please help me to follow in these women's footsteps and be faithful in all circumstances.

Before heading out the door the other morning, I gave myself the usual once over in the full-length mirror. There was a pale spot on my jeans and a quick swipe surprised me. You see, I've been carrying a rock in my pocket for just under two years. Yes, I'm a normal, sane person, but this rock is special. It's a tangible reminder that with God in my life I can do more than I think I can.

I picked up this rock on a beach around San Diego, CA after I had done several things I didn't think I'd ever be able to—things that required me to conquer fear on several fronts, even though they were just small things. It was through clinging to Jesus that I was able to do those things. I had set out to prove to myself what HE could do in and through my life, and He far exceeded anything I could have dreamed of.

Now that tangible reminder that rides in my pocket is making a visible reminder. I noticed the faded spot on my jeans and it reminded me of men and their jeans. Some men's jeans fade to the shape of their wallet, or pocket knife, or even (especially) their can of chew.

Is there anything in my life that is making such an indelible impression on me so that those around me can see it what's on the inside of me? Just like the impression of my rock is fading a spot on my jeans--is God in me visible to others?

Father, please fade my life in such a way that You are clearly visible to those around me.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.
~2 Corinthians 5:7

So many times in life I feel like I'm walking in the fog--but when I walk by faith, I know I'm not alone nor wandering aimlessly. God directs my steps. I just need to hold tight to Him
and obey.


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I've been reading about Abram—what a man of faith he was! God said leave home and go—and Abram did, even without knowing exactly where. But what really stood out to me as I read these chapters this time is that his walk of faith was not without bumps. There were times when he was not walking in faith, but God was faithful even through those times.

The famine in the land of Canaan sent him running to Egypt rather than running to God. Egypt plagued him and caused problems for him for the rest of his life. It was there he acquired more animals—which later caused problems between him and Lot. Not only did Abram acquire animals in Egypt, but what nationality was Hagar, the mother of Ishmael? Egyptian.

So why did Abram go to Egypt when God had sent him to Canaan? Because of not trusting God. The Bible doesn't record Abram asking God what he was to do (go or stay), nor does it record Abram asking God to supply their needs. It appears that Abram used only his head and not his knees. Ouch. How often do I do that? This is a pattern that repeats itself in Abram's life. He looks to human ways to solve life's circumstances and problems.

This something that we can relate to. We see something that needs to happen, or to be done, and we get busy making it happen. We use the heads God gave us and we figure out how to take care of the problem, without stopping to remember that we need to use our knees before we use our head.

Is anything too difficult for the Lord? ~Genesis 18:14

When we're busy doing and fixing, we often forget this important fact. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord. When we remember that, we're more likely to hit our knees before hitting the road. When we remember that, we're more likely to hit our knees and not end up holding our heads in pain and shame.