Bubble Wrap

Spring is approaching and along with that event comes the ritual of spring cleaning. Over the long and cold winter we tend to acquire piles of things that get thrown into the basement or garage. I'm not a pack-rat but I do have a lot of materials that I save to do projects and I'm still in the process of organizing my home after a cross country move. There are pieces of memorabilia from my past along with items of value and gifts from loved ones. There just is not enough room to have everything displayed so some of it must be stowed away. I can't help but notice my process as I secure my belongings. The items that are replaceable get rolled up in paper and stacked quickly in a regular box yet the belongings that are more unique and priceless to me are carefully bubble wrapped and gently placed into a sturdier box. What we treasure is handled with much more care.

Often as I go through this process I am reminded that my heart also needs an inventory. As we go through our busy lives we tend to let many unnecessary and unhealthy things accumulate in our hearts. Maybe we have replaced some of our precious time with God with too much mindless t.v. or our diets have allowed food to replace health, honesty and repair of our body and souls. I know that the winter catapults me into hibernation rather than going out and serving others. Bad habits and mindlessness become my companions as I sloth through my days.

Spring is a time of hope, repair, openness and change! There is nothing like that first warm day when the birds are singing, the air is fresh and all of nature seems alive to get us out of our funk. I was telling my grand-daughter and sister-in-law the other day (using the Internet and the storage cloud as examples), that we need to organize all that stuff in our lives that is floating aimlessly around in our minds. All of it seems so fragmented just hovering in our thoughts and confusing us everyday, causing us to feel overwhelmed as to where to start. Just pull one thing at a time down onto your desktop and deal with just that. One thing at a time. My saying is, "It's better to do something small than nothing at all." One task that is dealt with each week is 52 things addressed and taken care of each year.

Some of the things up in our "cloud" can be resolved, some thrown out and some can be swaddled in bubble wrap and stored for another day. Take those things which are precious and valuable to your heart and protect them. All the other things are just tasks and garbage that either need to be addressed or deleted. Our hearts, souls and bodies are valuable to God so they need to be treated with respect. Take some time this Spring to not only busy yourself with cleaning your home... but to pull away in some quiet moments to let God clean out your spiritual house. Nothing feels better than freedom! Freedom from all the unnecessary "things" that clutter our lives.

Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in Heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

2 Corinthians 4:18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God bubble wraps our hearts and minds with His peace because they are precious to Him.

The Donut Hole

Picture yourself being a beautiful cake with luxurious frosting and colored sprinkles all over the top! You feel whole and fantastic! The cake represents your soul with its warm, soft and pillowy texture. It's the safe place in the center of your life. The place from where "Who you are" grows! The frosting is what holds you together, similar to our control habits that we exercise in keeping our life from falling apart. The sprinkles are our relationships, activities, and rituals. The steady constants that our daily life revolves around. A pretty little cake that is all put together nicely and suits our lifestyle just fine.

Then, some circumstance comes along and blows a hole right through your center and turns you into a donut in a blink of an eye.  A gaping hole that empties your soul, leaves you out of control and scatters all that you knew to be normal spread out before you in collateral damage!

Have you watched the news lately? The world is falling apart bit by bit and it leaves us feeling shocked and fearful. However, when those blasts hit us close to our own lives it is quite different. It's then personal and the pain is inescapable. I often watch on television these interviews with students or parents...who have just lost a precious friend or child and I immediately say, "I cannot imagine." I secretly thank God that my prayers right then are for someone else and not for me and my family. How do they bear it? How are they even standing? The empathy I feel for them is even too much for my mind and heart to comprehend.

In this day and age we are so exhausted from trying to hold everything together. We whisper prayers like "Oh God, please keep calamity from our door!", weakening our spiritual life with worry as we live defensively and offensively. Our physical beings are drained from trying to protect our children from harm. If they leave our sight for a second we panic and scurry to find them. Mentally we are frazzled due to the demanding pressures of surviving and emotionally we are barraged with other peoples grief not to mention our own. All the while we are trying to present our selves as perfect little cupcakes.

The donut hole exists in all of us and no one can escape the trials of life. It's what we fill that hole with that counts. Jesus says, "In this world you will have tribulation. But, take heart! I have overcome the world."  For every sorrow, claim a joy! For every complaint, counteract it with gratitude!... Don't let the world fill your soul but let the hope and love of Christ dwell there. Be honest and humble with others as you let them see you without all the frosting. Your vulnerability can be a healing force for someone else. Take your shattered dreams and brokenness to the ONE who redeems! We don't have to live with a damaged soul. Jesus gives us a choice, whether we choose our own way or His, we always have a choice of how we will react to pain and loss.

My granddaughter and I made a cake for a party but we were running late and didn't let it cool all the way. When we went to turn it out of the pan it fell apart! We had a choice right then of how to react. We rolled handfuls into little balls and put frosting on them. We made donut holes. It's a simple metaphor but it can serve us in all our calamities. Jesus can make a message out of any mess if we let Him.

Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..."

Job 8:21, "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy!"

Always There

After I put my thoughts and inspiration from the Holy Spirit down in yesterdays post, I then began to pray. Tears of gratitude rolled down my cheeks for how merciful, loving and gracious God is toward me even though I don't deserve it. His unconditional and boundless love is so overwhelming to me that sometimes I just sit there inside of it speechless. Eventually, all I want is for Him to pour that same love over others who are hurting. I visualize Him carrying someone over rough terrain or through stormy waters and that realization comforts me. I know that He is ministering to them just as He is to me in that very moment. That's what prayer is.

I prayed for three specific things yesterday and within an hour of praying, two of the situations had calmed down dramatically. The Lord had put it on those people's hearts to call me and I got to see for myself that God had comforted them and rearranged their thoughts to ones of hope rather than sorrow. God saw how troubled I was about those dear souls and rushed in with His love to answer those prayers. The third prayer was answered this afternoon as I again received a call letting me know that the person was doing much better. My anxiety and fears were assuaged by God's kindness and thoughtfulness. I will never stop claiming that my favorite scripture is James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Whatever your trouble is, I assure you from personal experience that God is full of love and mercy and is waiting for you to draw near to Him.

Prayer is how we get close to God in an intimate way. There are bold  prayers where we intercede for someone who is beaten down and fight a spiritual battle in the name of Christ for them. There are prayers that are silent as our heads lay upon a pillow speechless and we just let God minister to us. There are prayers of rejoicing as well as prayers of surrender. Prayers where we pour out our souls and ones where we just listen. As I testified earlier, God is faithful when we cry out to Him. He wants nothing more than for His children to come to Him and just spend time with Him. If your heart is troubled then I encourage you to simply be still and say a prayer.

If I had only one prayer it would be that every person could know just how much God loves them and that they would believe it.

It Is My Prayer

Habakkuk 3:17-19  Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left or fruit, and though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God of my salvation. The Lord is my Strength and He will give me the speed of a deer and bring me safely over the mountains!

How I love that scripture! It reminds me of a Psalm, the way it lays out all the true hardships YET, ends with joy being expressed to God for His salvation and strength! These words ring true even in today's circumstances and can be a great encouragement for us to remember that life will be a hard climb but God will get us safely over the mountains!

Having a belief in God is like standing on a high rock when the flood waters come. We have chosen wisely and are grateful for His protection. However, I find that our mind-set in times of trouble can be our truest joy or our unfortunate demise. Anyone can instinctively grab their family or simply run with a basic self-preservation mind-set to a place of safety. Then, with a sigh of relief, thank God. It is the unshakable faith however, of a mature believer who dwells in thoughts of God's goodness and has joy throughout the journey. The trip they take through hard times is sprinkled with words of hope, kindness to others, tough stands of faith, tears of gratitude, words of encouragement, wise decisions, patience and times of prayer.  Rather than plowing through life avoiding a deeper connection with the Savior the mature believer has learned through his "relationship" with Jesus to follow Him and trust Him throughout the journey.

I seriously spent most of my life with zero patience. I went from annoyed to freak out in seconds! My emotions ruled me! Yet, as I grew in my relationship with God over the years I went from a child who felt like everything was out of control to a woman who knew God had complete control. I've come to realize lately though that as long as "I" can keep most things under control that my faith seems pretty stable. As I re-read Habakkuk's prayer/song I can clearly see my worst fear and that is to have everything around me falling apart! There are some major situations going on in our lives right now but unlike Habakkuk, we have groceries. When I look out from our circumstance I see a house that is up on repairs, cars that just had oil changes, yards and gutters that are cleaned up....However, Habakkuk only saw despair as he gazed out. Barns empty, failed crops, barren fields and not even a blossom of hope on the fig tree! Habakkuk declares, "YET, I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as the deer, and able to tread upon heights." I WANT THAT KIND OF FAITH!

Or do I??? Faith is a muscle and it only grows stronger with use. We DO NOT grow outside the presence of pain and who wants that! I'll take a full barn and bountiful crops any day. But, there is something to be said for hard times. It is in those times that I ran to Jesus and found out not only how precious I am to Him but how precious He is to me. In my pain is where my most tender moments with Christ have taken place. The deeper the pain, the deeper His love touched me. He has wiped tears from my eyes, held me still when I couldn't stop shaking and sat with me when I was so alone. Most importantly though, He understood me when no one else could. I don't know why such ugly things happen on this earth except for the fact that it is a sinful world right now. I do know however that I NEVER want to go through anything without my Lord Jesus. I don't blame Him for pain, I blame Satan because it is sin that destroys. One day very soon the hammer of justice will come down on evil and there will be no more sorrow or tears. Until that day I am clinging to my Savior and all I can do is pray that we all will learn to praise Him in times of trouble rather than blame Him. That, dear ones is my prayer.

Footnote:
I have started back at the gym recently and anyone who works out knows that there are no results without commitment and follow-through. It is the same with our spiritual growth as we read our bibles, have fellowship with other believers, get empowered in our prayer time and seek God in stillness. As we do the hard work of drawing near to God through these acts of faith we will see the growth and strength in our attitude and behaviors. Then, the work of God becomes fruitful as others see Christ in us and we can share the good news.

Right now

He is with you right now. You are safe in His arms of love and He understands you. Breath calmly and read the Psalms. He will get you though this. Sorrow may endure for a night but Joy comes in the morning. Shalom

Hard Won

Great truths are greatly won, not found by chance, nor wafted on the breath of summer dream; but grasped in the great struggle of our soul, hard buffeting with adverse wind and stream. Author unknown

I awoke early this morning and headed down to our family room to spend some quiet time with God. I put on some beautiful music, turned on a lamp which warmed the room with it's amber glow and curled up with my coffee and daily devotional. My expectations were high of having a cozy, quiet and serene time on my couch all by myself. I had created the perfect atmosphere worthy of an Oscar for Set Design! Within moments my dogs were rustling and my little Chihuahua started crawling all over me acting strange. Then as she looked up at me with her sweet face, she threw up all over me and the couch! Within a few minutes my husband came out of the bedroom to start his day and all I could think was, "Seriously!" All I wanted was some serene time in a picture perfect setting and BAM, life was rolling!

I could feel a spirit of anger and frustration come over me as I scrubbed the couch and myself. My quiet morning now had the sound of  dishes being washed and the smell of cleaning products! I wanted to scream, "Can't I even have two minutes to myself!" but instead chose to go sit outside for a few minutes and pray. "Lord", I said, "I am so tired and stressed and all I wanted was some peace! Can't I have a little normal!" As soon as I murmured those words I heard the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart whisper, "This is normal."

I have lived my life with the notion that "normal" was something that was realistic and attainable. The events that happened this morning were actually a blessing to my soul. God gave me a lesson and I realized that this lesson will carry me when I otherwise would choose to fall. Normal is all the clammer and happenings that go on in a day. Abnormal is when they aren't happening as part of our life! The gifts that God gives us are not uninterrupted moments but moments that we allow Him to interrupt! Our greatest blessings are found in Him through the interruptions of life.

How many times in our life can we look back on and say, "I wish I did that different." How many times have we let the distractions, mishaps and interruptions of life cause us to take our frustrations out on our loved ones, friends, co-workers or even strangers? I have a quote over my desk that reads, "Know the difference between a disaster and an inconvenience!" Friends, let's learn to take a deep breath when life goes awry. Let us learn from the Master, Jesus, who longs to teach us how to take life in stride and keep our peace of soul composed when life becomes bumpy. Pull away from the circumstance and draw near to the Prince of Peace. Women who have children tugging at you, secure the kids and then take even a couple minutes to put some Christian music on in the house. Go and hide in the bathroom for a few moments and keep a daily devotional in there or a bible or journal. Men, go out to the garage or take a short walk before your fuse hits the powder. Anything is better than hurting ourselves or someone else with words of anger. Breath and pray.

Ephesians 6:12 states, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." This paragraph goes on to describe to believers how to put on the armor of God. I suggest reading it for it is our only hope in a world of constant attacks. Another thing that I learned this morning is to laugh more. Life and all its troubles and frustrations can weight us down to a point where we become cave dwellers. Laughter lifts us up to the sky where there is fresh air and views of hope! Learning to laugh and smile helps us to not take ourselves or inconveniences so seriously. Pride and entitlement can be an awful trigger to anger and selfish behavior!

Lately, I have been making a conscious choice to ask God for His peace when I "feel" anxiety rushing in. I was convicted by the Holy Spirit the other day that the reason I did not have some of God's goodness was because I wasn't asking for it! He says to ask, seek and knock (Matthew 7:7), and I started doing that and he has been faithful as he has promised to replace my anxiety with his peace (1Peter 5:7) that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). We need to let our prayers trump our feelings. The sooner we come to grips with the fact that we have a CHOICE in every circumstance of how we are going to process and deal with it, the sooner we stop being victims of our emotions!

These battles are not easy, they are hard won. But, with a commitment to choose God in the ludicrous events of life we can find wisdom rather than foolishness, peace as opposed to frustration and joy instead of anger. Beloved, in every trial and situation there is a sweet lesson from God that can take our character from one of poor stature to one of integrity. We are always just ONE PRAYER AWAY from a complete shift of perspective! Choose this day who you will serve, the god of this earth who brings frustration, anger, malice, pride, regret, sorrow, shame....OR the God of love, who desires to transform you into a person gifted with wisdom, adorned with honor, instilled with peace and overflowing with joy.

Knock each small frustration down with a humble shout of praise before they build up and make you act unbecomingly.

1 John 3:1, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"

You Don't Own Me

My first instinct when I'm wronged or someone I love is wronged is to get defensive. As I've matured in the Lord I have taken note that my defensiveness diminishes quickly and my heart sees the offender more as a broken person rather than someone to be despised. I am much quicker to pray than to curse one of God's creations now. That's not to say we don't need to use wisdom when we are dealing with an offender. Forgiveness does not mean we go running toward the problem! Forgiveness is an act of the heart that sets you free of any strongholds or bondage that the situation could have held you in. Without forgiveness we are just prisoners in chains. We are to release ourselves from the chains and through that freedom others will see the power and glory of God! His Love has no boundaries so it can travel much further and deeper than our hatred. Also, the work that His love can accomplish far surpasses all the damage that our resentment ever could.That is precisely why we are not to hold on to the situation but we are called to give our burdens to Him. God's love covers a multitude of sins and can change any willing heart. We are not the Savior, He is. It's not our job to fix someone else. It's our job to place them through prayer into the presence of God so He can love them. Our act of love is to set all involved free through forgiveness. To God be the glory!

Mark 11:26, "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

That scripture alone propels me into obedience to God's request. The gate to heaven is narrow, which means we cannot fit through it if we are carrying anger, resentment, bitterness... Let's be sure that our hearts and souls are not tethered to the pole of bondage. I choose FREEDOM IN CHRIST. No one owns me but Him.

Pre-Praise

You are not some pauper begging for a crumb from your rich master. You are my child and I have given you my full inheritance. You may keep worrying and wondering whether I'm going to deliver you but I already have. You may be waiting for some kind of word from me but I have already given you My Word. You may be waiting for some sign of some other team to fail but your Victory will come. That is my promise. I'm asking you to come to me now in obedience and praise me for the victory that I'm going to give you. You are my child and your children are my children. If they ask you for bread do you give them a stone? Yet, you think that I will cast them into the wilderness. Draw near to me my child and I will draw near to you. I will replace your anxiety with my peace. I have never let one of my children down when they went to battle and I am certainly not going to start with you. I miss you. I need your friendship. Come back to me and believe me. I will not let you fall! You have been through the dark season of the soul but it's time for the Son to rise in your heart and mind. Come into my light,  be rested and refreshed. Have joy again! Please believe me with all your heart and mind.  Have Joy again!  Give praise to me now. I would love to Rejoice with you, not after I have blessed you but before the blessing. You may feel weak right now but that is only because I want it to be crystal clear to you that this Victory is from me and has nothing to do with anything that you did. I am a giver of good gifts. You and your children are surrounded by my invisible fiery Chariots of angels! No weapon formed against you shall prosper! The mighty War Horse will depart in confusion while you will have my peace.  Don't be embarrassed to dance and sing and praise me as my servant David did even though he was mocked by his wife. Let nothing, not fear, not Pride not anything keep you from praising me right now. My faithfulness endures forever.