My Guaranteed Moment

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Matthew 6:33-34

I awoke this morning to a guaranteed moment. A moment over which yesterday has no claim or power…a moment that tomorrow cannot touch. It is a guaranteed moment and I am blessed to walk it out. It includes reflective joy that my children and husband are healthy and I am loved. I have awakened to the knowledge that my 3 grandchildren lay in the other rooms soundly sleeping. My guaranteed moment includes deep gratitude to God that my mother lays asleep upstairs while her sweet husband prepares her coffee. I am out on the deck up in the beautiful mountains of Virginia with my soft blanket draped over me. I am hearing below the breaking of sticks and the rustling of leaves as the deer stare up at me, and quietly move past me as if they have gotten away with something. The birds are singing a song to each other that only they can understand, yet I still am blessed by the music. I have my Bible, my laptop, my worship music and my study and for now that is all that's required to fully embrace my guaranteed moment.

After my time with God and being in His word, there are more things that will be added to my day. There will be hours of watching the grand kids splashing around in the pool. Today will include go cart rides, bungy jumps in the dome, and the accusations of cheating at miniature golf I'm sure. Our faces will have remnants of milkshakes around our mouths, and the additional Oreo cookies when we get back home. I am not guaranteed tomorrow, and I will fully walk out the moments of today that string together another beautiful day on earth.

Take a few moments and really breathe in the blessings of today. There will be plenty of ‘these things added to our day’…the day cannot start without us. Most days we determine when the day starts and what is on our calendar. When we begin our day with a pause and an awareness that we have been entrusted with these 24 hours, we will see with gratitude the things God will add to this moment.

Let our pause be an offering to God, who is the only One who guarantees our precious moments. What does your guaranteed moment look like right now?

Fruitful Thorns

“But I want you to know…that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel…that my chains are in Christ.” Philippians 1:12-13

I just love how God works when we don’t even ask Him for anything. Whether He is answering a prayer or just confirming a thought His activity is all around us. This morning a dear friend of mine was texting me regarding circumstances in her family. Hope was on the rise in her situation, and it was a great way to start my morning. I told her that everything I am today is a compilation of the heartaches I’ve experienced and the poor decisions I’ve made. God has used every beautiful and ugly thing about my past to grow my faith. As soon as I began my Bible Study I was directed to the passage where Paul was imprisoned. The passage paints the same picture…that everything that has happened to him has ended up being an encouragement for others, and a new level of faith. Why is that? Because Paul fully understood that people would be chained either to their circumstances or chained to their God. ‘He is in physical confinement, help captive. However, he does not allow his chains to shackle him spiritually.’ What Matters Most, Karen Ehman, p. 20.

I have met people whose past circumstances have shackled them emotionally, doing nothing to bring fruit to their testimony. They remain victims of their circumstances and do so without apology. Others come to mind that live their lives bold and courageous being shackled to God…trusting Him in all things and for all times. These are the Paul’s of our time, and we are called to use our thorns to be fruitful. We are to share our stories of cancer with those who suffer with the disease. We are to open our grieved hearts and kneel with those who must say goodbye to loved ones. We are to stand our ground when God’s truth is threatened. We are to tell our stories of prodigal children, unfaithful spouses, or financial hardship. Thorns in all people…needing expression to make sense of the pain.

There is great fruitfulness in the message that is born from thorns. We must be bold and willing to share our gut-wrenching times with those who need hope. When hope is restored life is worth living. May we all have the desire to consider our thorns and share hope.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick. But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12.

Around the Fire

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy…you are all partakers with me of grace…how greatly I long for you all.” Philippians 1:3,8

I am beginning a new Bible study that I just know will be a huge blessing in my life. Paul is imprisoned and in chains awaiting his sentence, but his Christian believers and dear friends were on his heart and mind instead of his dire situation. No where else in the Bible are there such writings drenched in joy. I began thinking of times over the past years when my lifelong friends and I were separated. We all had marriages to build, children to raise and life to survive. Individually we walked out spousal divorces and death, regretful choices, cancer and loss, prodigal children…the list goes on and on. We look back and are all amazed that during those times we were not collectively together. But God always finishes what He begins. ‘…being confident that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it…’ Philippians 1:6

He began a good work when he placed us on the playground together 47-50 years ago. He began a good thing putting us together to figure out and navigate through school. It was such a good thing jumping on the trampoline, laying out on summer days, dragging Main St in our cars, and parties in the basement. He began something precious and joyful, and each day we are recipients of that grace.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, ‘Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?’ My answer is that this pleasure of which he speaks ranks in my top 4. Our good fire is our ongoing texts between friends who geographically live apart, but in heart are always present. Our good fire is the fire of Christ who has us connected in Spirit and love. God was working to complete the good work when Facebook was being created. He was completing it when friend request after friend request from our ‘band of misfits’ popped up on our phones. He was completing it when together we have bid some of our parents a temporary farewell. He was completing it when I whispered goodbye to my sister and received a beautiful card and spa gift from them.

I agree that few pleasures on earth measure up to the constant, never-changing, never ending love of sisters in Christ. These pleasures don’t have to be 47 years old because God has begun a good thing for me with some other friends. My prayer is that every person who reads this has a few good fires with a few good friends with whom to celebrate life. Grab your friends, hold them tight and always pray for each other. The former, the present and the ones to come.

Sewing Fig Leaves

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Ge 3:7 “Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Col 3:14

Adam and Eve had it all…the perfection of their environment …the untainted heart and mind of humanity…the objects of God’s affection. They were created and established in perfect love and loved perfectly. Then one day, difficulty and temptation slithered into their lives and before they knew it, they traded Spirit for flesh…perfection for the imperfection…truth for lies…unity for separation and traded love for fig leaves. Previously they were covered in perfect love, love for God, each other and every living thing God made. When the fruit was consumed they removed love and put on their self-made covering. Amazing how fig leaves can separate us from God.

I still find myself some days sewing fig leaves and covering up love. When called to love difficult people I tend to cover myself with excuses of why I don’t have to…sewing fig leaves. When I am called to keep God’s tough commands but only keep most of them…sewing fig leaves. When I choose idleness instead of service, and laziness instead of worship…sewing fig leaves.

We are each called to ‘put on love’ instead of putting on our coverings of entitlement… justification…bitterness…excuses. ‘Putting on love means mustering up a lot of bravery when we don’t feel like it and showing up for the everyday. It means advancing when we feel like retreating. Investing when we feel with withdrawing. Welcoming when worry is so much easier.’ Just Open the Door, Jen Schmidt, p. 137

When we put on love, we are putting on the perfect bond of Christ. Instead of hiding ourselves with fig leaves, we get to hide ourselves in Christ. Instead of creating a barrier of resentment and self-focused love, we get to love through the power of the One who tore the veil of separation. The command will always involve applying love to every situation…with every person…in every moment. We cannot accomplish this without putting on the person of Christ. He is our Bondsman and became our covering once and for all.

So, I pray for each of us today that as we have the privilege to walk in the Spirit, we do not act in the flesh. I pray that we lay down our needle and thread and put on the garment of love that Christ has already sewn with the red thread of His sacrifice.

Owning Our Moments

“Own the moment. The concept seems simple enough. There are literally millions upon millions of moments in our lives that we will either maximize or that we will miss. My greater concern in my own life, and yours is that if you build a pattern of missing moments that don’t appear to be significant, you will miss out on what builds a life.” Owning the Moment, Carl Lentz

One of the pastors at Seacoast Church shared this quote from a book he was reading called Owning the Moment. This quote was very powerful for me and the message stretched across the days into my Bible Study this morning. The exercise was to close my eyes and consider the five sensory experiences. With closed eyes I was able to better focus on what I was hearing. It was the uninterrupted silence of a new day beginning, a day where voice and sound had not yet pierced the quiet. Keeping my eyes closed, I inhaled deeply and smelled the faint remnants of my coffee. I tasted the flavor of my coffee that remained in my mouth. And then I slowly opened my eyes to see things in a new way. And I was overcome with gratitude…deep gratitude…for the things surrounding me.

First and foremost, I saw the pictures of my life that boasted a lifetime of love. I saw a set of parents who raised and loved Bruce all the way into my arms. I saw a set of parents who loved me and my sisters beyond anything else, teaching us how to love God and each other. I saw my own family with whom God entrusted me and Bruce, children of whom I couldn’t be prouder.

As I looked around with a grateful heart and tearful eyes, I saw such powerful items that make up such an important part of who I have become. God’s powerful word…active and alive…slicing between truth and lies…my shield to hold up. My Bible Study…God’s anointing on all these authors’ so that we may grow in Him. My computer… the instrument in which I share the gift God gave me. I was overcome with owning the moment and am so thankful that on this particular day, I maximized the moment instead of missing it. There have been too many moments that I forfeited or squandered because of distractions.

I want to build a pattern of maximized moments such as a gentle breeze on my face…a bird in the beauty of its song…lunch with my children...a smile shared with my grandchildren…my hand in Bruce’s as we walk down the road...silly laughter with my mother. These are moments that build a life…insignificant moments that string together a significant life shared in love, laughter and joy.

How will you own your moment today?

Mr Just Right

“Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." Genesis 2:18

When I was 24 years old I worked at Duke Power in Lancaster. My plan was to transfer to Charlotte and eventually move back to the city in which I was born. After I applied I received a phone call inviting me to interview for a few jobs. I was very excited, but also nervous. I remember the day perfectly and still laugh about meeting Bruce for the first time. He was my Human Resources contact in charge of my transfer. When I walked around the corner to meet him, little did I know my heart would never be the same. His smile was somewhat mischievous, and his eyes had hints of adventure. He held out his hand and introduced himself as Bruce. I extended my hand and introduced myself also as Bruce. Within 3 weeks I knew I wanted to walk this life out with this crazy man, and today marks 33 years that we stood before God.

God knew it wasn’t good for Bruce to be alone because he is a lover of relationship. When Bruce gives his heart to something or someone, it is permanent. His love is sacrificial providing for his family, no matter what. His love is for the long-haul no matter what comes his way. God made a helper for me who is just right, and I pray each day that I can be his 'just right wife.' He is just the right blend of danger and delight. He is just the right makeup of comedy and crisis. His ideas have been implemented with a mixture of the ridiculous and the resolution.

He was just right for me when I was a single mom for he loved both of us. He was just right for me as two more children were born with whom to share our lives. He was and is a wonderful man and father with a heart for God. He was just right for me when we walked through gut-wrenching times, and whenever I pursued crazy ideas. He was just right for me when I lost my dad and sister. Together we have certainly not been perfect, but we have been just right for each other as God placed us together. To each other, we have forgiven and been forgiven…we have extended grace and received grace…we have laughed and cried…knelt together in prayer and danced together in joy.

He is my ‘just right partner’ and I’m so thankful God knew that it wouldn’t be good for Bruce to be alone. I’m thankful that God knew there was something individually quirky and enduring that would carry us collectively through this life. Happy Anniversary to the one who is still the one!

Room for the Showbread

“You shall…make a table…And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.” Exodus 25:23, 30

Bruce and I have been part of a dinner club for over 23 years. Month after month 5 couples have rotated offering an evening of fun, food and fellowship. Each couple would go over the top in preparations when it was their turn. Over the years, sometimes we had themes, other times we went to restaurants, and most times we experimented with new dishes on each other. One of the things I loved most was setting the table and sitting down at the table others had set. A table well adorned is a table that invites others to come… take a seat…partake of the feast…an invitation to linger…a time to love.

God had specific commands when instructing His children in the desert. Even in the wilderness there were expectations that a table would be made for those to gather around. God was very explicit as to the way the table should be set. The last instruction was to always place the showbread on the table. ‘The showbread served as a picture of the King’s presence: He was at home, and a meal representing the fellowship he extended to His people was always ready.’ The Study Bible for Women, p. 101.

In thinking of God’s expectations for His children back then I couldn’t help but to think about them in my own life. I know that each morning when I arise I have a new table to set. Will my day reflect a picture of the King’s presence? What will be my placemats? Will my placemats be prayer time and meditation so that they will catch the crumbs of whatever I must ingest that day? What will I prepare to place on my plate? Will I serve grace and mercy, or will bitterness or idleness be the fare of the day? Will I leave space on the table for the Showbread so that my life can display Him as the centerpiece?

The way we prioritize our lives will be the daily table we set. Are we being intentional with the way we are setting our table? Is our table a place of invitation or a place of isolation? Even in the wilderness God promoted community and fellowship, knowing the importance of gathering together. Our hearts will reflect the way we set our lives up regarding fellowship and service. God has been inviting people to the table since He planted trees in the Garden of Eden. He promises each of us a feast in Revelation in eternity. God has set the table for every one of His children, but He will not force us to accept time with Him. May we all take time to come to the table, and see what God has prepared for us, so we may prepare for others.