The Beauty of Being Still

I mentioned in my profile that I have proclaimed this year for me as the year of "Be still and Know".  My life, over the past several years, has been a virtual whirlwind of busyness.  Working up to three jobs, involved in multiple ministries at church and the busyness of domestic life respsonsibilites left little time for personal one-on-one time with God.  The chorus of an old song called "I Miss My Time With You" says:
                                
I miss my time with you...those moments together.
I need to be with you each day and it hurts me when you say
   you're too busy.  Too busy trying to serve me. 
But, how can you serve me if your spirit's empty?
There's a longing in my heart.  It's wanting more than just a part of you.
It's true.  I miss my time with you.

I was so "busy" with life that I was missing out on the things that truly matter...quality time with the family, time to feed my mind through reading and studying and most importantly, time to know God through prayer and the Word.  I could stay busy and have nothing to show for it five years from now, or I could choose to "be still" and in turn, be a stronger, healthier and wiser woman of God.

There is beauty in stillness.

Try it, you'll like it.

Psalm 139:17-18  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.  I awake, and I am still with you.

The Most Encouraging Words I Could Say

I was thinking the other day about how much healing there is in a hug.  I was a little apprehensive about seeing someone who had at one time been such an important part of my life, but whom I had lost contact with for many years.  When she saw me, she hugged me so tightly that all the apprehension immediately melted away.  I knew at that moment that I was still loved and that our relationship was still alive and safe.

There is a song written by David Crowder that expresses this same sense of healing.  If you are in need of a hug today, as you read these words, may you feel the arms of Jesus around you so tightly that there is no doubt that you are truly loved and safe with Him.

How He Loves

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realize just how beautiful You are,

And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us all

And we are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,

If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.

And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,

I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,

Oh how He loves us,

Oh how He loves us,

Oh how He loves.

Didn't See That One Coming

One thing I'm not particularly great at is planning ahead.  I'm more of a "swing by your pants", "one day at a time" kind of person.  Quite an oxymoron for someone who also hates very much being caught off guard or unprepared.  One of my favorite quotes (and my children will tell you they've heard a hundred times) is, "It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."  I would just prefer to keep plenty of whatever "it" is on hand now so that I don't HAVE to plan ahead.

The problem with not looking ahead though, is that you often don't see what's coming until it's right smack in your face.  Talk about being caught off guard and unprepared!

That's when I'm so thankful for a Father who not only sees ahead for me, but he has everyday of my life planned out.  So, no matter what may hit me in the face tomorrow, no matter how unexpected, I know it didn't catch HIM off guard.  He knows exactly what to do and where to go.  It's my job just to follow Him.

Psalm 28:7  The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.      

You Can't Fool Me

One of my favorite movies of all time is the Wizard of Oz.  As a matter of fact, I've watched it so many times that I can recite almost every line along with the characters.  I love the scene where after listening to the wicked witch of the West threaten Dorothy, Glinda, the good witch of the North scolds the witch saying "Be gone!  You have no power here."  My favorite part of this scene is that immediately upon hearing these words, the wicked witch cowers in fear and knowing she has no choice, leaves.

Dorothy was frightened by her, but Glinda knew the truth.  And Glinda wasn't the only one who knew the truth, so did the wicked witch.

How many times do we let Satan try to bully us and make us think he can hurt us?  The truth is, just like the wicked witch, he has no power over us.  We know the truth and so does he.  We have the Son of God standing by our side to protect us.  So, the next time he tries to make you think he's in control, tell him, "Be gone.  You have no power here."  I guarantee you, he'll leave.  He has no choice.

Am I REALLY My Brother's Keeper?

Can you imagine dressing your son in a suit at the age of four and sending him off into the world to earn a living and fend for himself?

Or how many of us would watch our daughter or son walk the isle to start a new life with their true love and say, "Ok.  Now you're on your own.  Good luck.  I hope you can figure it out."?

Sounds ubsurd, right?  And yet, what we don't realize is that this is often what we do as the body of Christ when a new Christian is born into the family.  We celebrate at their conversion, welcome them to the family, then send them out to fend for themselves with no idea how to live this Christian life in a world that is fighting against them at every turn.

Cain asked God the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"  The answer is an emphatic, "YES".  God has entrusted his new child into our care.  May we be filled with compassion and responsibility to see that they grow to a mature follower of Christ so that one day, they too may help train up other future Christians.

A Lesson in Humility

I pride myself in my knowledge of computers. Although I can't even attempt any in depth techie procedures on them, I have a pretty good working knowledge of how to install software and hardware and how to fix those "not too technical" glitches that inevitably seem to arise from time to time for the more "inexperienced" computer users in my company. Just last week I was laughing about those who seemingly don't even know how to turn a computer on. This morning, while visiting my sister and her family, I arose early and decided to do some web surfing on her son's laptop while I waited for everyone else to wake up. I was humbled when after about two minutes of scrutiny and searching, her husband walked through the room and I had to ask him, "Uh, how do you turn this computer on?"



That's just the way we often are in our Christian walk. We pray, we read the bible, we go to church and before you know it, we start thinking we know it all...we have all the answers. You can be sure as soon as that happens, God will provide an opportunity to teach us that we are still dependent on Him. The great thing in this lesson, though, is that like my sister's husband, he is there to guide us and show us how to "turn the computer on" every time we ask.



Lord, help us to stay dependent on you in everything we do.