Many times I've talked to, witnessed to and consoled other women. Having lost a child, I know what to say to a mother who has just lost a piece of her heart. Having been sexually attacked as a child, I know what to say to a child who has been molested. Being a survivor of cancer, I know what to say to anyone facing that killer. Having lost a parent, I know what to say to one who has lost a dear mother or father.
Often in such situations I'm told, "Oh, I'm not strong like you." Or, "I just don't have your strength."
Allow me to tell you my secret:
Nehimiah 8:10 -- The joy of the Lord is my strength.
In my worst pain, I felt I would never be the "happy me" again. My worst pain changed who I was. It stole my joy. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be a sad, tragic figure. I didn't want to be unhappy. I didn't want to feel so broken. I searched within myself and found no answer.
During this time I talked to Him about it continually. I knew there was a "Him" answer. Then I finally asked Him to let His Joy flow through me. I knew He would do this. I didn't have a clue what it would feel like. I didn't have a clue how or even if it would change me. I just knew I had no way of being happy within myself.
I prayed, "Just put Your Joy where mine used to be, Lord." And He did! Even as I asked, a small smile appeared on my face. In my darkest hour, He gave me joy. Heavenly Joy. Joy from above. At this point, I knew nothing could take this Joy from me. It was rooted in Heaven and growing in me, another facet of Him, so generously given.
That's when He began to grow strength in me. It wasn't then and is not now my strength. It's His Strength. I can be weak. I don't have to do anything to make myself strong. I don't have to try to find strength somewhere. I just let His Joy and Strength flow through me.
Won't you join me in Joy?
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Listen
What you see here are words on a blog page. What you read here are words formed from the English language. What you feel here is what God says to you. The words of this blog come from a heart in love with him but my relationship with Him is not yours. It can't be and it shouldn't be. He formed you in your mother's womb for His purpose.
We often speak of our gifts and our ministry and our service but that's not a relationship. Some gifts are given at birth. The gifts of the Spirit are given by God at your acceptance of your salvation. That's not a relationship. Your ministry is what he has planned for you to do for Him. That's not a relationship. Your service to God is how you live your life to best demonstrate His ownership of you. That's not a relationship.
Father, Abba, Daddy, Beloved, those are some of the names of my Loved One. When my own sweet earthly daddy was here on this earth we spoke, sometimes for hours, daily. We talked about serious things, silly things, God things, everything. We could do that because we were genuinely interested in what the other one had to say. Sometimes, i just listened. Sometimes, he just listened. That's a relationship.
We Christians call it praying, but it's not the "Lay me down" prayer or the "God is great" prayer of our chidhood any longer. Those prayers are excellent for teaching a child to speak to God. As we become women of God, we speak "grown-up" to God. As our relationship with Him grows so does our talking to Him grow.
This is not about flowerey, blustery prayers. It's about speaking to Him as you speak to a dearly loved one. It's about talking big-girl talk to Him but sometimes it's about listening to Him, just listening. It's about allowing Him to be Him in you. It's about opening your heart - the way down deep part of you - to Him.
The best prayer I ever prayed had no words. It was just me standing before Him with my heart open to Him. Fill me, Beloved. Lead me, Beloved. It was just a wish, a longing to have more of Him in me. There's always more of God. You can't use Him up or distract Him or take what belongs to another. You can't wear Him out or tire Him out or bore Him out.
The fact is, He wants to hear from you so much that He made a way for a human being to converse with Him. He "fixed it" so you can step right up to Him and hug Him. You mean so much to Him that He sent Jesus to pay for your sins with His blood, so that a sinful woman, who has no right of her own, can stand before the perfect God of Heaven and talk, or laugh, or cry, or just listen.
When He hears you, He hears you as you are, washed in the blood of Jesus. When He speaks to you, He speaks to the washed by the blood, white and pure you. Are you listening?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Growing Love
My love for my mother is greater today than it was as a child. My love for my friend, Cindi, is greater today than when we first formed our friendship. My love for God is greater today than when I first accepted my salvation at the age of nine.
You might say, “Oh, you’ve just matured.” Of course, you would be right, but my response to you would be, “Well, then, I’m still maturing.” (At least, I hope I am!) I’m still developing. I’m still trying to grow in all of my relationships.
I lost three children before they were born, but I loved them with that fierce, protective, heart-filling love only parents feel for their little ones. My son, Jack, was killed in an accident when he was 12. I loved him more each day of his life. My daughter is in her 30s. I love her more today than the day she was born. I fell in love with all three of my grandchildren at their birth, but as they grow and I learn their sweet personalities, I love them more with each passing day.
As we mature, so does our ability to better love each other. As we journey toward Heaven we are growing in our ability to love. We will love each other more and more through eternity. As much as my love for my dear ones has “matured,” so will that love continue to “mature” in Heaven.
Even with all of eternity to grow love for God and for each other, our love still will never come close to the love God has for us. Looking back on how far my ability to love has come, and looking forward to that love growing exponentially through all of eternity, I’m overwhelmed at His Love for us.
You might say, “Oh, you’ve just matured.” Of course, you would be right, but my response to you would be, “Well, then, I’m still maturing.” (At least, I hope I am!) I’m still developing. I’m still trying to grow in all of my relationships.
I lost three children before they were born, but I loved them with that fierce, protective, heart-filling love only parents feel for their little ones. My son, Jack, was killed in an accident when he was 12. I loved him more each day of his life. My daughter is in her 30s. I love her more today than the day she was born. I fell in love with all three of my grandchildren at their birth, but as they grow and I learn their sweet personalities, I love them more with each passing day.
As we mature, so does our ability to better love each other. As we journey toward Heaven we are growing in our ability to love. We will love each other more and more through eternity. As much as my love for my dear ones has “matured,” so will that love continue to “mature” in Heaven.
Even with all of eternity to grow love for God and for each other, our love still will never come close to the love God has for us. Looking back on how far my ability to love has come, and looking forward to that love growing exponentially through all of eternity, I’m overwhelmed at His Love for us.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Bytes
Recently, on TV, there was a report about children from the last couple of generations having a much shorter attention span because of sound bytes, video games and the short spaces between commercials.
Isn’t this really just our human condition? Aren’t we the same? We adults may not be spending time with a video game but we engage in our fads, don’t we? Do you sit and read for hours without a break? (Of course, we’d love to have that option!) Have you read the same type of books all of your life? Don’t we change literature at church periodically?
Some of us remained loyal to “Gunsmoke” (or now, the “Simpsons”) on TV for all of its 20+ years but most of us started watching something else after a period of time. We might have come back to it occasionally, but other things caught our attention. It just isn’t possible to focus on one thing exclusively. It isn’t how we’ve been made.
We read our Bibles daily but sometimes something pulls us away. We have to refocus and get back on track. In our lives things and activities are finite. They have an ending. We search for the next bright object. Often times we start looking for the next thing before we are finished with the current thing. God made us this way. We haven’t found Heaven yet.
We are ever questing for……, what? God created us to look for Heaven. He gave us a desire for the eternal. He has blessed us with many things, activities and people which are dim pictures of our real Home but our “final destination” was not ever meant to be this earth.
Our Loving Heavenly Father even gave us a way to get Home by giving us Jesus, whose perfect life and sacrificial death on Calvary has made it possible for us to leave our sins and enter that perfect place for which we were created. Because He took our sins that day, we can confidently enter Heaven.
Longing for Home, aren’t you?
Isn’t this really just our human condition? Aren’t we the same? We adults may not be spending time with a video game but we engage in our fads, don’t we? Do you sit and read for hours without a break? (Of course, we’d love to have that option!) Have you read the same type of books all of your life? Don’t we change literature at church periodically?
Some of us remained loyal to “Gunsmoke” (or now, the “Simpsons”) on TV for all of its 20+ years but most of us started watching something else after a period of time. We might have come back to it occasionally, but other things caught our attention. It just isn’t possible to focus on one thing exclusively. It isn’t how we’ve been made.
We read our Bibles daily but sometimes something pulls us away. We have to refocus and get back on track. In our lives things and activities are finite. They have an ending. We search for the next bright object. Often times we start looking for the next thing before we are finished with the current thing. God made us this way. We haven’t found Heaven yet.
We are ever questing for……, what? God created us to look for Heaven. He gave us a desire for the eternal. He has blessed us with many things, activities and people which are dim pictures of our real Home but our “final destination” was not ever meant to be this earth.
Our Loving Heavenly Father even gave us a way to get Home by giving us Jesus, whose perfect life and sacrificial death on Calvary has made it possible for us to leave our sins and enter that perfect place for which we were created. Because He took our sins that day, we can confidently enter Heaven.
Longing for Home, aren’t you?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Reaching God
We so often speak of seeking His Face or reaching for Him or striving for His Presence. These phrases give a mental picture of working to get closer to Him. If we are longing for a closer relationship with Him, we start trying to figure out what it is we need “to do” to get there. Read your Bible, pray, spend time praising Him. These are “good” things, but these things are not handing out a proximity map to Him. Just where is He, really?
In Genesis 28:12 we are told of a vision of a ladder sent to Jacob in a dream. It reached from Heaven to earth. Today, right here, right now, there is a ladder provided by God. Jesus is our ladder. We confess our sins. We turn from our sins. We turn toward The Christ. We accept, or take on Christ Jesus as our Savior. He sends His Holy Spirit to us through our act of acknowledging our sins; and turning from our sins; and accepting Him as The Messiah.
He is right here, right now, with us. He has always been right here, right now. We don’t even have to climb the ladder. The cross planted it in the ground of our world forever. He’s always been here, but He placed the ladder from His Perfect Presence, which cannot abide sin, to us through the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus, being Himself perfect, took on all sin for all time and became the ladder-bridge, joining us to God.
Once you take His Hand, you’ve reached God. If you haven’t done that yet, take this moment to turn from your sins and place your hand in His. That is reaching God. The other things are knowing about God. They will enrich your life and grow you up into whatever He has planned for you. Come on, place your hand in His. It’s a wonderful journey!
In Genesis 28:12 we are told of a vision of a ladder sent to Jacob in a dream. It reached from Heaven to earth. Today, right here, right now, there is a ladder provided by God. Jesus is our ladder. We confess our sins. We turn from our sins. We turn toward The Christ. We accept, or take on Christ Jesus as our Savior. He sends His Holy Spirit to us through our act of acknowledging our sins; and turning from our sins; and accepting Him as The Messiah.
He is right here, right now, with us. He has always been right here, right now. We don’t even have to climb the ladder. The cross planted it in the ground of our world forever. He’s always been here, but He placed the ladder from His Perfect Presence, which cannot abide sin, to us through the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus, being Himself perfect, took on all sin for all time and became the ladder-bridge, joining us to God.
Once you take His Hand, you’ve reached God. If you haven’t done that yet, take this moment to turn from your sins and place your hand in His. That is reaching God. The other things are knowing about God. They will enrich your life and grow you up into whatever He has planned for you. Come on, place your hand in His. It’s a wonderful journey!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Music To My Ears
You have been blessed if you’ve heard Cindi speak at one of the Frazzled Female events. She has a beautiful voice. When she leaves a message on my answering service, she doesn’t have to say her name. I recognize her voice.
In the grocery store, recently, I was talking and laughing with a friend from church when someone on an adjacent isle came around the corner to speak to me. She recognized my laugh. She knew the sound of my laughter.
Singing is quite another matter for me. I fall into the “joyful noise” group. In church, when singing His praises, I sometimes see those in front of me surreptitiously glancing over their shoulder to see who is making that strange racket! I’m singing to My King, who recognizes my voice and loves to hear me sing His praises. I’ve never been asked to sing a solo at church, but My Lord hears the music of my heart.
As a child, in youth choir, our choir leader asked me more than once to just move my lips. I didn’t mind. I know how my singing sounds. I just don’t know how to fix it for folks! It is so different for God. In Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) God’s Holy Word says: “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Can you imagine that? He…. The Great God of Creation…. The Great I Am…. He sings your praises! I can only imagine what His Beautiful Voice sounds like. But even more still, I am humbled by His Voice singing about you and me! Oh, how He must love you and me.
Let’s personalize that verse. Substitute your name in that verse. The Lord your God is with (Patt), he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in (Patt), he will quiet (Patt) with his love, he will rejoice over (Patt) with singing. Put your name in the parentheses and say that verse out loud.
He loves you that way and that much. Sing. Make a joyful noise. Give Him something to sing about!
In the grocery store, recently, I was talking and laughing with a friend from church when someone on an adjacent isle came around the corner to speak to me. She recognized my laugh. She knew the sound of my laughter.
Singing is quite another matter for me. I fall into the “joyful noise” group. In church, when singing His praises, I sometimes see those in front of me surreptitiously glancing over their shoulder to see who is making that strange racket! I’m singing to My King, who recognizes my voice and loves to hear me sing His praises. I’ve never been asked to sing a solo at church, but My Lord hears the music of my heart.
As a child, in youth choir, our choir leader asked me more than once to just move my lips. I didn’t mind. I know how my singing sounds. I just don’t know how to fix it for folks! It is so different for God. In Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) God’s Holy Word says: “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Can you imagine that? He…. The Great God of Creation…. The Great I Am…. He sings your praises! I can only imagine what His Beautiful Voice sounds like. But even more still, I am humbled by His Voice singing about you and me! Oh, how He must love you and me.
Let’s personalize that verse. Substitute your name in that verse. The Lord your God is with (Patt), he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in (Patt), he will quiet (Patt) with his love, he will rejoice over (Patt) with singing. Put your name in the parentheses and say that verse out loud.
He loves you that way and that much. Sing. Make a joyful noise. Give Him something to sing about!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Peace
It’s such a beautiful time of year! The whole world is “dressed up”. Yet, not everyone is happy and content. Some are in crisis. Some are looking at what appears to be no future, or, at best, an unhappy continuing of troubles and pain.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV): "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, HOLY and DEARLY LOVED, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
The emphasis is mine, to tell you how He loves you. If you have accepted the gift offered by Christ’s remarkable sacrifice, you are HOLY and DEARLY LOVED. He has extended this to us, not because we deserve this gift, nor because of anything we’ve done or not done, but because of Him, because of His Graciousness toward us.
This season is not really about the baby, it's about the gift of Him. He is calling to you right this minute. He’s saying “Come, dearly loved one.” He is whispering, tugging, calling, waiting for you to snuggle up beside Him, lean your head on His chest and be sheltered by His all powerful Arms.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV): “Let the peace of Christ RULE in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."
“But how can I find peace in the chaos of my life?” you might ask. You and I can do that by giving that chaos to Him, by giving Him the junk of our life, by giving Him every part of each of us. In verse 15 I emphasized the word RULE because only His Power can overcome whatever is crushing you. You hear His Voice as He says: Let my peace RULE in your heart.
All you have to do is ask Him. His peace calmed storms, stilled waves, conquered death and more. He can absolutely handle anything you have in your life. He is calling you. Give Him a chance to show you what it's like when every single thing is given to Him. Really. He's God. He can manage the unmanageable.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV): "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, HOLY and DEARLY LOVED, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
The emphasis is mine, to tell you how He loves you. If you have accepted the gift offered by Christ’s remarkable sacrifice, you are HOLY and DEARLY LOVED. He has extended this to us, not because we deserve this gift, nor because of anything we’ve done or not done, but because of Him, because of His Graciousness toward us.
This season is not really about the baby, it's about the gift of Him. He is calling to you right this minute. He’s saying “Come, dearly loved one.” He is whispering, tugging, calling, waiting for you to snuggle up beside Him, lean your head on His chest and be sheltered by His all powerful Arms.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV): “Let the peace of Christ RULE in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."
“But how can I find peace in the chaos of my life?” you might ask. You and I can do that by giving that chaos to Him, by giving Him the junk of our life, by giving Him every part of each of us. In verse 15 I emphasized the word RULE because only His Power can overcome whatever is crushing you. You hear His Voice as He says: Let my peace RULE in your heart.
All you have to do is ask Him. His peace calmed storms, stilled waves, conquered death and more. He can absolutely handle anything you have in your life. He is calling you. Give Him a chance to show you what it's like when every single thing is given to Him. Really. He's God. He can manage the unmanageable.
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