Category: Christian Life

Christian Life · waiting

Progress

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Look friends!  Look what is happening in the hole in my backyard!!!  It might not look a whole lot different than when I posted about it here, but the point is that progress is being made!!  I can see it!  I can even hear it as the compressor goes over the sand and gravel.  Oh, what a wonderful sight to my waiting eyes!

This project has taken far longer than I’d anticipated.  It’s caused disappointment, frustration and even despair! At times I even believed it was impossible. I have gazed out my window so often and pictured what that finished patio was going to look like.  I could see people sitting around the fire pit, laughing, talking  enjoying the warmth of the fire while piling toasted marshmallows onto golden  crackers.  I could imagine it – but I couldn’t really see it, because it wasn’t a reality.

But now I see progress!  Something is moving out there!  There is tangible evidence that change is being made, and I can’t contain my excitement!

Can we make the connection with the trial that you’re facing right now or with the prayer request that seems impossible?  Or the person that shows no interest whatsoever in coming to faith in Christ?  At times all you see is an “ugly hole in your backyard!”  Nothing is happening or changing!  Let me encourage you to keep peering out the window with eyes of faith!  There will be a Day when you will say, “But Now I see progress…”

Faith can wait.  

Therefore I will look unto the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.  Micah 7:7

Keep waiting!

Christian Life · Prayer · Uncategorized · waiting

Awkward Waiting

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Yesterday I found myself waiting once again for a situation for which I have prayed much.  I sighed.  I cried.  Then I ran…to the Lord.  I poured out my heart to Him, and it felt good to give it all back to Him.  I reminded myself to give thanks for this waiting.  I remembered, too, that Isaiah 40:31 says that if we wait on the Lord we will have renewed strength.  Praise the Lord.  The last thing I did was go to my blog for other posts I’ve written and remember what the Lord has  taught me while I  waited on Him in the past.  The following is an old post that was a good reminder for me.  Let me share it…

I will never forget the anxious moments of waiting. I was a soon-to-be post college student seeking God’s will for my future. My name had been given to a pastor (Pastor Cunningham) who was looking for a secretary for the Christian school at his church, and I was waiting for my appointment with him where I would be interviewed for the position.

I arrived promptly at our set time, climbed the stairs to the Student center, and peeked into doorway of the interview office (from a distance). I saw a man talking with a student. Immediately, I assumed that he was the man I was waiting for. I seated myself on a sofa outside the office, in a place where I would be easily seen when he exited the interview office. Then I waited…and waited.

At another place across from where I sat, a man was seated. It appeared that, he too, was waiting for someone. We both waited. I was thinking about the exam that I was going to be taking in the next class period and wishing I could be studying instead of just sitting. The waiting grew wearisome. The interview inside the office continued, and I grew more and more impatient and frustrated. I kept looking at my watch wondering how long I would have to wait, and wondering if I would miss my appointment because he’d gone too long with this other person. Finally after 15-20 minutes, the gentleman that was seated nearby got up and approached me, and suddenly I had a funny feeling the my waiting had been in vain.

“Are you waiting to be interviewed by him?” the man asked, nodding toward the interview office.
“Yes I am” I replied.
“What is his name?” he asked.
“Mr. Cunningham” was my answer. The man smiled and then said laughing, “Iam Mr. Cunningham! I assumed you were waiting for him since you kept looking toward that office!”
I introduced myself and then our interview got underway. Of course, you must realize that I got the job, and I also got his son for a husband a few years later – now that’s some deal! =)
As I’ve looked back over that interview all those years ago, I remember how awkward I felt waiting. After waiting for a long time a person begins to realize that something isn’t right. Perhaps someone waits for a friend at a restaurant and they never show, then they look at their calendar on their phone and realize their lunch date was for the next day. Sometimes waiting without response can have a tragic end because the person who was supposed to show up was in an accident or got sick. Waiting for people can have awkward moments.
Waiting on the Lord is altogether different, however.
Lamentations 3:25 says,
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Even when we wait for a very long time for the Lord to answer our cries, we don’t have to wonder if He’s misunderstood. We don’t have to question if He’s really going to show up. There’s no need to doubt about Him keeping the appointment! He will always hear, He will “show up” at just the right time, and He will keep His appointment with us and our situation!
As you wait on God, don’t get up and leave. Don’t start doubting. Don’t start sighing in desperation. Your waiting will not be in vain. You can trust in Him because He is good and will do good in your life!

Did anyone else need the reminder of the blessing of waiting?
With love,
Christian Life · Easter · Uncategorized

I Remember

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I worry about myself sometimes!

“Where are my keys?”

“Who was I supposed to email today?”

“What was it that I wanted to pick up at the store on my way home?”

There is a command in Scripture to do some purposeful remembering about something far more important than keys and groceries – we’re to be remember the cross:

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

I’ve heard these verses read many times as I’ve taken communion at church, and I heard them again this past Sunday as we remembered the Lord’s death.  The bread was distributed, then a prayer was spoken, thanking Christ for being our sacrifice.

I took the bread and put it in my mouth.  As my teeth bit down into the small wafer, the words, “This is my body, broken for you” rang in my ears.  Just as my teeth were grinding that bread into tiny pieces, once again, I was remembered that it was for me and because of me that Christ suffered.  I put Him there.  It was my sin.  I caused the pain.  I nailed Him there as surely as I was now grinding that wafer into little bits.  My heart wrenched with the thought of my wickedness and His sacrifice!

How thankful I am for the reminder of Christ’s suffering that our monthly communion time brings. To sit in my seat and take of the bread and the cup is to remember that:

  • Christ died for individuals – you and me.
  • Just as I received Him as my Savior, I must personally keep a clean heart – before partaking of the bread and cup, and every day in between.
  • My sin put Him there.
  • He suffered untold pain and agony.
  • I’m preaching the message that I’ve been saved, and He is coming again every time I take comunion!

A personal message.  A personal remembrance.  A personal Savior.

Thank you, Lord, for making The Lord’s Table a command for believers, so we would go back to the cross.  Thank you, dear Jesus for dying for me.  I remember.

Have you taken a heart-felt trip back to the cross to remember what He did for you?

Lovingly,

Christian Life

God’s Virus Protection

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There was a recent death in our family – my computer!  Oh the sadness. I knew it was coming, so I had braced myself.  Then the new baby (computer) came home – several months later.  With my purchase came a 30-Day free virus protection.  At the end of those 30 days, I got a notification to tell me that my computer would no longer be protected unless I bought the plan.  Keeping the computer free from harmful attacks of viruses or hackers was important, so I took them up on the discounted offer and purchased the year agreement.

At that moment after hitting “purchase,” my computer got a work over.  Scans were run to make sure all was clear.  Files were checked.  Programs got a once-over.  When all was said and done, I got a note telling me that I could rest easy – my computer was free of anything harmful, and my computer’s future was also safe.

I’m thankful for those kinds of protections!  I have no way of knowing when harmful things come into my computer, so it’s a blessing to have this kind of technology to run interference for me!

As a Christian, I know that God’s Holy Spirit is my personal protection against sinful “viruses,” if you will, entering my life.  Its potential is to destroy all that is good and right.  Jesus purchased every believer’s “protection plan” when He died on the cross.  We read in John Jesus’ words that He would send a Comforter – the Holy Spirit. Here’s how that plan works in my life:

  • Each morning I start my day in prayer, asking God to run a scan (check my heart) to detect what sin is there.
  • When the Spirit of God points to a sin in my life, I acknowledge it, rather than arguing about its presence.
  • I call it what God calls it – a lie (not a little fib), gossip (not a prayer request), laziness (not just being tired), etc.  I John 1:9 If we confess our sin…
  • He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. After I call it what it really is, then I ask God to get rid of the infected files (sin and ask Him to forgive me).  He promises He will!

Without the Spirit’s work in my heart, just like my computer, I, too, would be rendered inoperative.  Effectiveness would shut down.  Testimony would be shut down.  Rewards in heaven – shut down.  But praise the Lord, God’s protection plan isn’t just for a year, it lasts my entire Christian life!  My renewal is just my daily walk and desire for Him to keep my heart pure.  We must turn the computer on (pray) and seek God’s face each day.

Are you walking in close fellowship and keeping your heart pure by the Spirit’s cleansing? Are you wondering why “things just aren’t working right now?”  It could be that there is sin that needs to be dealt with!  He’s just a notification away!  Call and He will hear, cleanse and forgive!

With love,

 

 

Christian Life · Prayer

The Little Pink Shoe Box

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shoes

I had a fun day of shopping yesterday.  From Aldi’s to Kroger and Target, I meandered my way through my lists.  It was when I got to Target that something unexpected happened – my emotions got hijacked!

As I was walking through the store, I passed the children’s shoes and I saw a pink box, labeled, Sam & Libby. That box immediately took me back to the time that God provided shoes for our older daughter, as miraculously as when Jesus fed the 5,000 on the hillside.

When our girls were growing up, it seemed that finances were nearly always a huge issue (can you relate?!).   We home-schooled, so we had the expense of books and curriculum, as well as the normal expenses of doctor visits, dental bills, piano lessons, insurance…you get the picture.  If I’m not mistaken, I believe the need for Whitney’s shoes fell at Easter.  We had no money to purchase something for her, so I did what I always did – I prayed.

To be honest, I don’t remember all the specifics today -like how long we prayed and waited, but I do know that used an individual who ordered and had shoes shipped to our house!  God  provided for her; they were Sam & Libby shoes – beautiful and perfect in every way!

Yesterday when I saw that box, my heart flooded with gratitude again, even after all these years.

 “Lord, you have always taken care of us!  Thank you!”

came the cry from my lips and my heart, right there in the shoe department in Target.  Someone walking by probably thought I was upset that they didn’t have what I needed, but oh no – I DO have what I need.  I had it in all my yesterday’s.  I have it today, and I’ll have it in all my tomorrow’s because I have  a God in heaven Who hears my cries and answers prayer!

For all those answers, I’m so glad there was a need, so I could witness my God at work in this family’s life!  It’s also a sweet blessing when a pink shoe box transports me back to the memory of His great love and provision for us!  What an awesome God we serve!

Do you have a need today?  It’s not too great OR too small for God.  Take it to Him and then trust and wait for Him to answer in a way that will be perfect!

Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.  Jeremiah 33:3

Lovingly,