How can a thing become an Old Friend? I’m not really sure, but this sewing machine was my Old Friend. I got it in 1976 when I was a senior in high school. I paid $100 for the machine and the cabinet; a lot of money for an 18 year-old working a part-time job.

I wanted to learn to sew and now with my New Friend at my side, I enrolled in an evening Singer class where there were only a few students. Each student in the class had ample individualized time with the instructor because of the ratio. I learned tips and tricks that got me started on the path to becoming a beginner seamstress. My Old Friend never laughed when I sewed my corduroy skirt with the knap going in opposite directions, or when I had to rip out the same sleeve three times to get it to hang straight. No, it just kept helping me to make beautiful things from pieces of fabric all those years.

I wish I knew how many miles I put on that Old Friend! In the past 37 years, I’ve made dresses, blouses, skirts, aprons, curtains, baby dresses, doll dresses, bags, a partial quilt (still working on that one!), pillow cases, napkins, a coat and many Halloween outfits. I taught my daughters to sew on my Old Friend. It has given me hours and hours of sewing pleasure with very little mechanical difficulties. It was a faithful Old Friend.

Yesterday I sold my Old Friend.  Gulp. I felt like a piece of me left with it. It probably sounds silly to others, and frankly, I was surprised at the emotion that gathered in my throat when I watched it being carried out to the buyer’s car. We’d had many hours together, me and my Old Friend. I was young when we became acquainted. It got me through many seasons in my life.

Hmmmm, kind of reminds me of a mentor, a discipler, if you will. A disciple sticks with another person to teach, encourage, and be there through the seasons of their life. They don’t laugh or ridicule when mistakes are made; they are faithful to stay by your side, cheering and motivating the next right step. I’ve had mentors like that – my mom, another pastor’s wife and others. But I wonder to how many women have I been an Old Friend? There’s nothing like a that kind of confidant, who will instruct and guide, pray and help, smile and encourage through every stage and phase you go through.

My “Old Friend” was just a machine, but my real “Old Friends” were anything but mechanical – they dealt with me from the heart. That’s the best part of an Old Friend. Your hearts are connected in Christ. A true friend will always point you back to Him.

Are you being an Old Friend to another woman? I don’t mean just a buddy, I’m talking about discipling someone. No matter your age, there’s someone younger than you are that needs just what you have to share – your heart. Won’t you prayerfully consider someone to whom you could be an Old Friend?

Oh, and by the way, a dear lady gave me a new sewing machine recently. It does all kinds of fancy stitches and tricks! I see a new friendship in the making!

Have you had someone who invested in your life and is an “Old Friend” to you? I’d love to hear how she impacted your life!

With love,

For years my husband has told the “story” of a man who died and was buried in his Cadillac. His buddy came to the funeral and when he saw his friend lying there in his Cadillac he said, “Man, he sure is living!”

What is really living? What does it look like?

 Yesterday when I read Proverbs chapter 12, I thought of what good advice the last verse in the chapter is for anyone who wants to know how to approach life as a believer; to know what it’s like to truly live. It’s the best advice for a single person, a married couple, a young person or someone up in years. It’s the same for all of us. Here’s what the first part of the verse says…

If life is found “in the way of righteousness,” what is the way? It’s only when we are right with God that we can even be called righteous, so that’s the first point. This is a person who has accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins. They are now right with God. Then to continue “in the way,” we obey God’s Word and His Word says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” It is by faith that we are saved, and we must continue to live believing God for everything in our lives.

Being in full-time ministry, I can’t remember a time that my husband and I haven’t had to live by faith. We stepped out into our first ministry unsure of how we would make ends meet, but we knew we had God’s promise to provide all our needs. Many, many times we have had to pray and wait on God to supply for every day needs, funds for camp for our girls, books for school, or money for a bill and God has always been faithful.

Even now, as we’ve embarked out into the realm of purchasing a home, we have PRAYED (my request began 10 years ago!), waited, prayed, looked, prayed, offered, prayed, waited and THEN we saw God provide the perfect house at the perfect time in a way that only He could get the glory!

I know there are many people who have the funds to buy whatever they want, and trusting God really isn’t in their view finder. I’m sorry for them. Watching God at work is incredible! But living a life of faith is more than just money – it’s turning to God about everything – job, church home, vacation, retirement, how to spend the money you do have, investing in others, and day to day decisions.

Are you really living in the way of righteousness? When you are, then and only then are you really living.

Why not embark in that righteous way today? Stop and ask the Lord to reveal how you’re going your own way instead of trusting Him in faith. You’ll find greater joy and fulfillment as you wait on Him to reveal Himself in every area of your life!

With love,

I had been standing in the condo kitchen for about an hour packing up dishes because, in answer to months of praying, my mother-in-law’s condo has sold! So my house isn’t the only place I’m packing! We now are in the throes of packing up what seems to be a mountain of books, a city of dishes, and a nation of pictures at the condo!

I thought I was finally nearing the end of all the kitchenware when I dared open a cabinet door as suspiciously as a mouse entering a room full of cats. When the light hit the inside, it bounced off of a whole cabinet of Corning ware. I groaned – not just inwardly, but out loud. “You have got to be kidding me! Who needs this much Corning ware?!” My complaint ricocheted off the condo walls and echoed in my ears. More importantly, it hit my heart. I knew then it was the Holy Spirit’s conviction. The words in my heart were His whispers –

“If the condo hadn’t sold, you wouldn’t have to be packing all these dishes. This is all due to your prayers being answered.”  “Oh, Lord, forgive my complaints. You are so good, and I will choose instead to be grateful for all You are doing in our lives.”

For the rest of the time I worked, I purposefully chose gratitude, thinking about the joy of this need being taken care of. What’s a little more newsprint on my hands? So what if it takes a couple more days? God did this, and I will be glad! It’s amazing how my perspective changed the afternoon.

Have you found yourself complaining and groaning in your spirit today? What’s causing it? Is it the mountain of laundry? The attitudes of your little ones? The sleepless night? The load on you at work? An unreasonable boss? Start thanking God for that thing instead and watch it change your heart and the situation!

With love (and a stack of happy boxes),

As I was studying my Sunday school lesson this week, a memory popped into my mind. It was that of our laundry room that was in the house we lived in when I was a teenager. It was a basement laundry room, and there were no windows in it. It was dark. Very, very dark. I remember not even being able to see my hand in front of me when someone (honestly can’t remember who) turned the light out on me. Even as a teenager, it was creepy! I inched my way toward where I thought the door was and found the light switch and turned it on. The darkness was gone. Did the light change the room itself? No, but thankfully, it made the darkness disappear!

The illustration in our lesson reminded us that the light doesn’t change the room; it simply dispels the darkness. It makes the darkness disappear. In a much greater way, when Christ lives His life in us, the darkness of our sin nature is gone and Christ is seen instead. Oh, how I long for that to be true in my life!

How does that happen? It takes place when I yield myself to Him. I must ask for His Spirit to fill and control me. I must obey His Word instead of the pull of my flesh.

I wonder how dark we look to the world around us? Or is it obvious that Christ dwells within us because that Old nature is dispelled by the Light of the world? Oh, may it be so!

How have you seen Christ’s light in others?

With love,

Today is the first day of Spring!  We’ve had a lovely entry with temperatures unseasonably warm for the last couple of weeks.  I love it!  What word would you say is associated with Spring?  Fever?  True.  But how about Cleaning?  Spring and cleaning just go hand in hand. 

Once the sun is popping its warm rays into our windows, it reveals the dust that has accumulated during the winter months.  The wood stove, furnace or fireplace has special ways of causing many layers of dust to make their abode on every piece of furniture – as well as behind it, above it, and  below it, revealed in form of cobwebs and dust bunnies! 

It’s easy to let dust build up during the winter, considering that

1. We tend to sleep more in the winter.
2. It’s dark for more hours and the sun is often hidden, keeping us from really seeing the dust.
3. We tend to be a bit lazier in the winter months!

I wonder if our soul is in need of a spring cleaning? 

1. Are you “sleeping” to the work of the Spirit of God in your life?  By that I mean, are there things you know you should be doing, but you are pushing them aside instead of obeying?  Devotions, prayer, church attendance, for example.  
2. Is darkness closing in on you due to accepting things that you used to say “no” to?  Things like television shows that are filled with sinful lifestyles and ungodly language?  
3. Are you being lazy and wasting away time on the television or the Internet (Facebook or Pinterest)?  These can be time wasters, if we’re not careful.  

Proverbs 19:8 says that an idle soul shall suffer hunger.  The one who is idle is going to be wanting when trials come.  When hardships touch their life, they will have nothing in their heart from which to draw because of their idleness.  “Dust” has covered their soul and they are heavy laden with the dirt. 

We all need rest. We all need time to be leisure, but we must be careful that it doesn’t come to the point that our soul suffers from it.  If you’re seeing some “dust” rejoice that the Spirit of God is revealing it!  Then, with His strength, get rid of it.  You’ll feel clean, and will be ready to move into a new season of usefulness for the Lord!

Happy Spring (cleaning),