Archive for the 'The Solid Rock' Category

March 5, 2009 @ 10:08 am | Filed under: Soul Food,The Solid Rock

Blessings have always seemed to be the symbol of the favor of God, of being in His will. And when they’ve rained down upon my head, I have to say that I have felt incredibly loved by God.

Not that I deserved the blessings – never, ever will that be the case – but that, by receiving them, I’d reached some sort of apex.

That’s how I used to think.

Now I know differently.

Blessings don’t bring fulfillment. If you don’t believe this, think back over the blessings in your life.

The new house? It’s beautiful, wonderful, exactly what you’d dreamed of.

But at the end of the day, when you lay down to sleep, it’s still a house. With responsibilities, chores, and pressures built right in. And eventually your family will outgrow even the new house, and you’ll want a larger, nicer one.

A promotion? It’s what we all want, what we work so diligently toward. But again, it’s a job, and as with any job, there are multi-faceted issues that make it seem less than a blessing on many days. And one day, even that dream job will appear stale, and you’ll find it no longer satisfies.

We always want more.

The same is true with our spiritual blessings. Just beyond blessings, lies another place. A place we don’t like to talk of much, let alone visit.

Brokenness.

When we reach that point, well…that’s where we find the true will of God. That’s when we know that yes, indeed we are in His perfect will.

It may not always be the most comfortable spot to be.

It may not be the place of importance or stature we thought we wanted.

It may take us outside personal comfort zones and force us into situations that are foreign and unfamiliar.

But it’s in those places we find new levels of relationship with God.

Blessings are a sign He loves us. In spite of all our faults, our failures, our inadequacies, He loves us still.

But brokenness is a sign we’ve tapped into a new realm of relationship.

Think of Abraham. Isaac, the son of his old age, was nothing short of a blessing straight from God. But as Isaac lay on the altar of sacrifice, Abraham was brought to a place of brokenness.

The blessing was no longer enough. It was only after that time of brokenness that Abraham was brought into a new realm of relationship with God.

And what about Job? No one would ever dispute that blessings were abundant in Job’s life. If blessings were a sign of favor, well, Job certainly had favor.

But it was only after losing these blessings, and coming to a place of brokenness, that Job was at last lifted to a new realm. A place he would never have reached had it not been for brokenness.

Brokenness leaves us transparent, needy, and vulnerable.

It also leaves us in a place to be reshaped, remolded, and fashioned into vessels He can truly use.

When the blessing isn’t enough…

March 2, 2009 @ 11:06 am | Filed under: Friends,The Solid Rock,Uniquely Me

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York;
And all the clouds that low’r'd upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

-Shakespeare

“The way we live our lives is a measure of our contentment toward God.” – borrowed from Jody @ Nitty Gritty

It was twenty years ago when a couple of friends and I attended our very first weekend ladies retreat. We packed our overnight bags, left our small children in capable, caring hands, and hit the highway for what we felt was some long-overdue, much-needed TLC for over-worked, under-paid, and (only slightly) out-dated moms.

The next three days were full of laughter, good food, new friends…I’m sure. But – to be honest – those are not the memories that have hung around the halls of my mind all these years.

Instead it is the resonating trills of one lone message that has withstood the test of time. Circumstances have changed. The toddlers of twenty years ago are now young men and women with lives of their own, and yet this message is one that shifts with changing times.

BE YE CONTENT.

Over and over and over, throughout this sermon, the message was clear. God’s plan for our lives is for us to find ourselves in Him, not wrapped up in things, or even in people. It is only in the shelter of His great arms and in the presence of His mighty strength that we are at our best.

BE YE CONTENT.

I remember the three of us chafing a bit as we squirmed in our seats and finally gave in to the tears that stung the back of our eyelids. We reached for wadded up Kleenex and dabbed at our eyes, realizing that our weekend was taking an unexpected turn.

We’d come for consolation, but were met face-to-face with conviction. It turned out to be a defining moment in each of our lives; one that changed each of us forever.

It seems like there’s a lot of talk these days about contentment. If there’s any good that has come, or will come, from the state of the economy, I believe it’s causing us to truly examine our priorities and values.

I’m finding that most folks are discovering the same thing that I am: I already have all that I need to live a rich and productive and fulfilling life.

What about you?

Are you finding this to be the winter of YOUR contentment?

Tags: devotions

February 23, 2009 @ 8:56 am | Filed under: Motherhood,The Solid Rock

A few days ago I walked into the house at the end of a long day and sank onto the couch, kicked off my boots, and launched into filling Mike in on all the details. He’s good at that; at knowing when I need to talk something through and – on this particular day – I think he realized long before I did that I was about to, indeed, talk something through. He pulled off his reading glasses like he does when he’s preparing to give his full attention to something and he listened.

It had been a full day, with classes, labs, a meeting, and then a late lunch with one of our sons. The many conversations – rich with nuggets of information that were still waiting for me to patiently mine through – played through my mind and skipped across my heart as I tried to convey it all to my husband.

After I had done the best that I could, he leaned over and simply looked me straight in the eye. “This is the answer to all those prayers.”

His words stopped me and I grew still.

In one single sentence he had managed to capsulize what my heart had been trying to wrap its arms around for hours. Sometimes I think it’s the prayers we pray the most; the ones we pray for days and weeks and even months that eventually become such a part of the fabric of our day. Much like brushing our teeth or getting the coffee ready to brew for the following morning. They simply become a part of us, so when they begin to be answered we don’t always recognize them.

My husband’s words took me back over the past months, to the countless times I’ve gone to my knees – the tears I’ve wept, the promises I’ve clung to, the prayers that made their way from the farthest reachest of my soul at some of the darkest hours of the night…

In those times I imagined what this answered prayer would look like. I pictured it in my heart’s mind and I memorized it. I knew its lines, its depth, its weight. I knew its color, its shape, the way it would look, sound, taste, feel and behave.

But you see, that’s the great thing about my God. He is the ultimate in delivering surprises. When He answers prayers, He takes great delight in making sure that each package is unique; He wants it to be a one-of-a-kind, original in every conceivable way. I forget that sometimes; either that, or my mind is just not able to comprehend the magnitutude of what it is that He is all about.

This morning I do know He is all about loving His children. As much as I love my own children, He loves His all the more.

From that first moment a few days ago, when He began to answer this long-held prayer, it has been an almost non-stop process since. Each day, more and more of His plan has unfolded and I am in awe of Him. I would never have imagined this answer. It looks nothing like I imagined. Feels nothing like I imagined. Sounds like nothing that I had imagined.

That makes it all about Him, and not at all about me.

And that makes it absolutely perfect.

Tags: answered prayers, faith, Family

February 13, 2009 @ 6:13 pm | Filed under: The Solid Rock

Dreaming comes easy to some folks – like me. It’s as much a part of the fabric of our being as our blue eyes or our eye for detail or any other single trait that makes us exactly who we are. Dreamers find inspiration in the most unlikely of places; better put, inspiration finds us.

For others, tapping into the dream is the hard part. Having the courage to pursue life, though, may come easier for these types. They believe in specific purposes and detailed plans and that “everything happens for a reason, but nothing happens without a plan.” Courage is always nearby; the hesitation only comes when courage is called to be front and center of something they have yet to truly see, and have only sensed.

I’m a true mixture of these two types. On some days I can run the gamut of letting my kite string out just as far as it will possibly go and clinging desperately to a safety net of plans and charts and deadlines. What I’m finding more and more is the freedom that comes with letting the kite go, with one hand firmly about the string and my two feet firmly planted to the ground.

Freedom is a gift directly from God. I believe He intends for us to live lives that are free. Not only free in Him, but free of doubt and free of fear. But freedom also means walking through gateways that we would ordinarily bypass. Freedom to explore new territory. Freedom to invest in new ventures or talents. Freedom to color outside of the lines from time to time, when appropriate.

I saw the following recently and it seemed to speak right along these lines. This morning, my feet are planted on terra firma, but my heart…

My heart is clutching big, over-size crayons – in all my favorite hues – and it is exuberantly coloring outside of the lines!

Find time to spend with God. Ask Him to show you how to make the most of your potential.

Research the area you want to pursue. For example if you desire to develop your talent in art, discover what’s available at your local community college, or call art supply shops for information about classes.

Expect to make adjustments to your schedule. Focusing on God’s calling for your life will not be easy. Make a list of your daily responsibilities and decide which are important and which ones are simply time consumers. Also, decide which duties follow the path God has called you to. Sometimes even good things are not the right things. You may teach Sunday School and run the food ministry, but perhaps that leaves you unable to follow a deeper desire which is to work with the elderly.

Enjoy the process of striving toward your dream. Oswald Chambers says, “We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. . . . What we call the process, God calls the end.”

Delight in each step you take toward your dream. Just as your to-do list is never complete, you will never “arrive.” Develop relationships with others who share the same talents and goals. Be available for encouragement and prayer.

Openly communicate your dreams to your family, and ask them to do the same. Brainstorm ways to help each other reach toward God’s best.

Make daily appointments with God to insure you are on the right track. Many of us have the tendency to take our dreams and run toward a direction God never intended. Spend time in Bible study and prayer to make sure you are fulfilling God’s purposes. It is in His presence that your dreams combine with His to find that “. . . he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) NIV.

After all, completing God’s plan should be our greatest goal and the best reason to dare to dream.

February 9, 2009 @ 7:04 pm | Filed under: The Solid Rock,The Writing Life

“I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, set it free!” –HELEN KELLER
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My mind has been on living water a lot lately.

I’ve felt like a kid at a big giant water fountain – one so large that I’m raised on my tiptoes, with tongue outstretched, eyes shut tight in wonderful anticipation – loving the cool wetness as it bathes all the parched spots that life sometimes dries up.

Jesus has always delighted in giving water.

I think about the Samaritan woman. It’s often bothered me that she was never known by name, but rather by her location and her place in life. But today – as I sit here, reading through the story again, I’m touched by just how electrifying it must have been to meet Him.

He, who reached out to her – a woman and an untouchable – and with kindness she’d never known before, he softly, politely, lovingly gave her water to drink. No doubt she had come to draw water at that hour in order to avoid the mass of other women who would do nothing except point, whisper, and avoid all contact with her.

But this man – he looked her in the eye, perhaps even touched her sleeve to get her attention, and then he proceeded to begin a conversation that, interestingly enough, is the longest recorded conversation in the Bible between Jesus and anybody.

That is fitting, I think.

The water He offers us – all of us, the ones from the wrong side of town and the ones raised on church pews, the ones with faults and failures and the ones who’ve yet to taste bitter disappointment – is the same. What better way to demonstrate sharing this living water than by making direct eye contact, speaking words of truth in love, and taking time to meet a person in need – right where they are?

In a global community that is so caught up in living green, how is it that God’s love – this living water – is very often the last place folks go for solutions. This living water is pure, it’s free, it can be recycled over and over again, and will never clutter anything.

It breathes life, restores life, gives life.

It’s that wonderful, cool something that flows over my hand – and my heart, and my soul, and my spirit – awakening me, giving me light, joy, and setting me free!

February 4, 2009 @ 7:00 pm | Filed under: The Solid Rock,Uniquely Me

You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” –Psalm 139:5-8
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This time of the year, there seems to be so much to do, so many places to go, so many conversations, so many faces.

There are thoughts of plans for the new year, and recollections of the failures and successes in the last. Ups and downs. Twists and turns. Starts and stops.

And through it all, Jesus is right there. Right here.

Waiting. Dispensing strength. Loving me.

There is no where too far for the reach of His hands.

At the end of the day all I really want is to crawl my way back home and huddle in the safety of His arms.

That’s where I find my strength.

True strength.

The really great thing about His arms? There’s room enough for us all.

Tags: faith

February 3, 2009 @ 6:41 pm | Filed under: The Solid Rock

He’s been teaching me these past many months the art of letting go. Letting go of the old in order to embrace the new. Letting go of what is not working so that He can bring to me what will. Letting go of trying to fix it or work it out on my own, instead allowing Him to bring His perfect will and plans into my life.

Letting go of the old ideas that are not based on the THE living word of God, letting go of the soul-draining stuff that tries to graft itself into my mind instead.

Someone from a great classic piece of literature said something like this, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” What a weight that would be to bear. I’m grateful to know that I don’t have to helm my own ship, chart my own course, and keep my finger to the wind constantly. There is great peace that comes with letting go.

For a control-oriented person like me, letting go is never easy. Letting go of my children, letting go of career plans, letting go of girl friends, letting go of failures…But I’ve found that there is almost always a direct compensation for letting go. He is always faithful to fill me with new hopes, new ideas, new dreams and – more importantly – fresh faith, fresh vision, fresh excitement.

Letting go means getting to free-fall back into the all powerful and loving arms of God and RESTING. Resting like David, who in Psalm 131 wrote, “I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

I have a grateful heart today. I came across this poem a while back and it seems to fit perfectly today.

As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God,
Because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him,
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help,
With ways that were my own.
At last, I snatched them back and cried,
“How can you be so slow?”
“My child,” He said, “What could I do?
“You never did let go.

- Author Unknown

January 30, 2009 @ 6:37 pm | Filed under: Soul Food,The Solid Rock

I remember an old stoplight that I used to have in my Sunday school room. I used it for almost an entire quarter one year as I endeavored to teach a room full of eight and nine year olds about characteristics of sound decision making.

I’m thinking about that old light again today, except I’m imagining a God-sized version; one that I look to for direction in an effort to maintain order, minimize chaos, and streamline all I have going on in my life.

Who doesn’t love a green light? They generally mean yes, and usually turn us loose to run head-on, with abandon and enthusiasm, into a new venture, a new job, a new direction, or maybe even an escape, a vacation, or just a plain ‘ol fun time. These are times that fill us with joy, with good memories, with well-being. We feel loved, cared for, and it’s easy in these times to know Who we belong to and just exactly what our purpose is.

The red lights, the resounding, unmistakable sound of no…? Often times these bring us up short, cause us to freeze in mid-step, right as we’re about to step off the curb and into the crazy highway of Life. I’ve learned to graciously embrace a “no” when they come along because now I know that, while I’m unable to see what lies in wait for me down the way, He sees it all, knows it all, has it all in His hand. In His time. These are moments to catch our breath, slow down, gather strength and knowledge. While not always fun, they are essential to our well-being.

The yellow days, or the times of maybe, are perhaps some of the most challenging ones for me. On a good day, I’ve been known to reluctantly cling to a faith-filled “maybe.” These days are the times when we’re given no clear direction, only the message to take our time, exercise caution, be aware, and look both ways before crossing. One of the hardest to endure words in my psychological, mental, emotional, and spiritual consciousness is WAIT. Yet it is most likely when the most work is done within me.

The only thing that makes wait a concept I can live through is juxtaposing it with God’s promises; especially, Isaiah 40:31, “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.” I’ve strode to the rhythm of that verse like a mantra in my head during many a brisk morning walk, determined to get it into my spirit so that I could hold on, trust God, and go on to the next thing at hand.

I believe it is when we learn to accept the yellow lights, cross briskly and safely during the green ones, and hug the curb with forced patience while we endure the red ones, that God begins to grant us some of the greatest desires of our hearts. Long-time hopes. Eternal flamed-filled dreams.

When we have waited, persevered, held on to God’s promises, passed more tests than we fell short of, refused to give up hope, and denied giving the enemy of our souls any ground…the path in front of us begins to grow clear. Our way becomes illuminated and – it’s in those moments of clarity – we are able to see that the road falling away behind has carried us to such a special proximity to Him. And the road that is rising up before us is one that is guaranteed to challenge, to thrill, to motivate, to humble, to grow, to make us as strong and able-bodied as we need to be to finish this majestic, wonderful journey.

It’s because of these times that we stand here today, clothed in bright minds and yielded hearts, on the verge of realizing some of the greatest desires of our hearts. We’ve recently crossed the threshold into a new year – fresh, clean and unused – and prepared especially for us. A new year to live, trust, hope, pray, laugh, prosper, grow, praise, and believe God.

There is something inside of me that is vibrantly crying out that 2009 will have been WELL WORTH THE WAIT. It’s our time to shine. It’s our time to share during daylight what God has shown us in the dark, time to shout from the rooftops what He has whispered in our ears in secret.

I’m waiting on Him. During a season of yellow lights, I am mounting up with wings as eagles, I’m running without weariness, walking without the fear of fainting.

January 2, 2009 @ 6:29 pm | Filed under: The Solid Rock,Uniquely Me

I’m not making any resolutions this year.

There are no long lists of goals I want to accomplish, no checklists to mark off. My quest to simplify seems to have worked, at least to some extent, and I think that maybe if I’ve learned anything this past year it has been to roll with the tide, accept and release. Work well with what you have, adjust when changes come, look for the good, let the negative bubble up and off of you like rain water on a really great auto paint job.

Eat well, start the day with quiet time with God, exercise, work hard, play hard, give it all back to God at the end of the day, sleep well.

As I look back over the beginning of 2008, I see me pushing through narrow spaces with too much stuff. Bags of expectation, both of myself and others, sparkly and big. Then there are the pouches, little pockets full of things that I thought made me look better to people, more acceptable somehow. Isn’t this the way it always is with us? We work so hard to achieve the things that don’t truly mark our way in this life, and spend far less time on the far-reaching, life-changing aspects of this journey. No more – I want change, and I want it in me.

The year was full of surprises and virtually all of them were delightful gifts from God. I can honestly say that not one thing on my goal list from this time last year was fulfilled, yet more things than I can count were granted to me that I did not even have the vision on my own to imagine, let alone go out and try to create. My faith was built in ways that changed me. I thought I was solid in Him before, now I do not even know where I start or end in Him, only that I am surrounded by Him so completely.

Somewhere along the way I’ve learned to drop a few of the bags I’d been lugging around, things that I thought were of the utmost importance and must be carried by me, and me alone. In reality they were little more than dead weight and were doing little more than weighing me down, slowing my progress, distracting my focus. I’m packing lighter these days – simplifying – and I’m finding things (and people) with an ease and with a grace that I’ve longed for for such a long, long time.

I’ve also discovered more things in this lighter bag of mine. Forgotten words, growing in spite of themselves, in spite of me. But mostly His word, and this growing need inside of me to be directed by It alone; photos with smiling faces, waiting faces, people I’ve yet to meet, people I will be driven to love this coming year; and there is also this long and winding ribbon that is unwinding before me – the future – and the sight of it is a constant reminder that I desire to leave a legacy that will gift not just my children, but also my grandchildren’s children.

In 2009, I want to carry this one backpack and in it have the essentials – my faith, my love, my relationships. I want to pack light enough to get the good stuff in one bag. Everything else can be purchased as needed as I journey down the road. It’s not about a resolution this year, or a list of goals or dreams or a bullet-point list of things to accomplish.

It’s about living life, and loving every minute of it. Not because each minute is fun or exciting or everything I want it to be.

It’s simply where He has me for this moment in time, and I don’t want to miss a second.

Tags: New Year's resolutions

August 28, 2008 @ 5:15 pm | Filed under: 5 Minutes for Mom,The Solid Rock

I posted here today.

Tags: devotions, Faith Lifts