A New Sash

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:3-9

These are some of the beatitudes that Jesus proclaimed would bring blessings once we develop these attitudes of the heart. If it was important enough for him to say it is imperative that we live it out while on this earth. These exhorts do not return empty to us but usher in blessings when our heart is aligned with the beatitudes while dealing with the circumstances of life.

This weekend was an emotional roller coaster overflowing with the ‘circumstances of life.’ Our daughter was invited many months ago to participate in a local pageant which would give her a platform for Alzheimer’s, a cause close to her heart. She worked hard and stepped out of her comfort zone. She showed her children courage to do something beyond the norm. The night of the pageant was this past Saturday and the auditorium was full and she was beautiful. She completely commanded the stage every time she stepped upon it and at the end of the evening was crowned queen. But a string of events occurred that prompted a recount and a mistake was found. She was called yesterday morning and was informed that she was first runner up and they would need to gather the sash and the crown. The grace that she exuded and the strength in which she responded was nothing short of these beatitudes. What she did on Sunday was no different than how she lives her life Monday through Saturday. But we live in the flesh, with hearts needing comforting and emotions needing the settling of the Holy Spirit.

Today is her birthday and I know that what she will receive from laying down her crown in grace and courage is so much more than what she would have received while wearing it. Her children have learned important principles this weekend. They learned that it takes courage and faith to step out in the unknown, and they learned that it takes grace to except what life brings. And then they learned about comfort and love as they watched the gentle exchange between a woman who needed comforting and a man whose arms were ready for the task at hand. Yesterday was a rough day for the family but God is bigger than our roughest days. We don’t understand why this had to happen but it is times like this when we have no choice but to believe that everything works for our good once we love God. We must believe that God is a good Father even when things don’t feel good. Faith is remembering that God is still love when bad things happen to us.

Our family couldn’t be prouder, and she will continue to pursue her work in the Alzheimer’s community. Those precious people who wear their own type of crown will continue to know her as their Queen. Happy birthday our sweet Kristen. You will never know the people you impacted this weekend not by Saturday’s queen but Sunday’s queen. The sash you wear is Mrs. Proverbs 31, 2018.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Honor her for all she has done.” Proverbs 31:25-31

Gone Fishing

“Going on from there, he saw two brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father…preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat…and followed him.” Matthew 4:21-22

The danger with being familiar with Bible stories is that we frequently become too comfortable with their overriding message. Something about this story today makes me want to sneak down to the shore close enough to hear the conversation between these two brothers and their dad. No doubt their father had taught them how to fish. No doubt there had been times when they were fooling around and needed a gentle reminder that fishing was a serious business. It had been their life as children…as teens…and now as adults. So, I can only imagine when they looked up and heard a stranger standing close by calling to them, interrupting their work. What on earth did Jesus say to them that made them drop everything and abandon their responsibilities? We can assume that Jesus said the same thing He previously said to the other fishermen before the brothers. ‘Follow me…and I will make you fish for people.’ Matthew 4:19. What was the response of their dad as he was left  holding the nets and watching his boys follow a stranger? I would love to hear the exchange between the siblings and parent.

I remember a time when my dad owned a moving company. The company was located at Hartsville, SC and took about an hour to get there from Lancaster. Most of the moving jobs were in that area, and the town was full of were very old homes. My sister Becki and I worked for Daddy one summer as teenagers and frequently were up in the hot attics going through old things. We would wrap whatever was up there and make up stories about the treasures. The people would leave piles for us to discard, and I would take many of their old ‘treasures’ home to give to Mother (your are welcome). Daddy would catch us fooling around and remind us that these things were someone else’s property. I can’t even begin to comprehend a stranger popping his head in one of those homes and telling me and my sister to lay down our boxes and go with him. This is the reality of what happened with the disciples.

I was thinking about what I was doing when Jesus called out to me in 2006. How was I preparing my net, and what had I been fishing for all those years leading up to that moment? I realize now that my net was my image, and the big fish I wanted to land was acceptance and approval from all the other women. I never did catch that big fish, and I’m glad that I didn’t because it would have cost me something greater than my net could handle. My net would have been prepared with compromise and pride, and my yield would have never satisfied me. It was all a smelly business with no gain.  I’m so grateful that like these brothers, Jesus interrupted my life and has shown me the net He has prepared for me. My net is my writing, and He determines the yield who enter the net...and I'm grateful for that and humbled by that reality.  I’m so blessed to the tell the story of a Stranger who met me at the shore, called me to lay down my net and follow Him. It is the sweetest interruption to my life I have ever had.  My preacher stated a beautiful truth last week in church. He said that ‘Jesus interrupts our story, so we can tell His story.’ Talbot Davis.

So, as you go through your beautiful life today, prepare your net by inviting Jesus to join you and He will show you in which bodies of water you can catch the yield He has for you.

“But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5

Highway #7

“When Job’s…friends…heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out…to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance…they began to weep aloud…Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” Job 2:11-13

The number seven is one of the most significant numbers of the Bible because it is the number of spiritual perfection. It is the number which is stamped on every work of God. It is no surprise that this passage includes that number. Job’s friends, while they were not perfect, sat with him in the greatest despair of his life. They didn’t shy away from his tears…from his pain…from his despair. They joined him in his suffering and remained with him in spirit until its completion… the moment God restored everything in spiritual perfection.

A while back I experienced one of the most gut wrenching and painful seasons of my life. I just thought I knew pain up until that point and had never felt the level of loneliness until that time. There was a handful of people who continuously made time to check on me…comfort and encourage me. Many times, it was through a text and the only sound was the notification chime, but the words spoke life. Other times I would hear their voice on the other end of my phone, giving expression to my pain. Sometimes, we would be together and would simply sit in silence. I knew they were praying for my sorrow and were willing to sit with me in that awkward and uncomfortable season. I know that God hand chose this little team of people to take my hand and walk with me until it’s spiritual completion… ‘to sit with me on the ground for 7 days and 7 nights.’

We all have times where all the wheels fall off the wagon, and we feel stranded in our circumstances. It is a time when God sends those saints to minister to us and help carry us through those situations. It is so tempting to isolate…insulate…medicate but those aren’t the sustaining mercies of the Lord. King Solomon once wrote ‘Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their efforts: For if either falls his companion can lift him up…And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.’ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I pray that each of us thank God for our strand, those beautiful people who walk beside us through difficult times and love us right up until the season changes from winter to spring. Whether we are the strand, or the stranded God stamps on our hearts the hope to give or the hope to receive. Trust in God and trust in the road He has laid before you. Your #7 is up ahead.

"...and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels." 2 Thessalonians 1:7

Disarming Evil

“It is rare indeed for anyone to die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:7-8

Last weekend a man walked into a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee and opened fire on the customers and workers. I watched an interview of the hero who risked his life to apprehend the shooter while he was reloading. This young man had a daughter at home, and regardless of the sacrifice he was willing to lay down the circumstances of his own life to save both strangers and friends with whom he worked at the Waffle House. When described as a hero, he dismissed the title and said he just wanted to minimize the suffering for families. He not only stopped additional suffering by disarming the man, but he started a Go Fund Me page for the families of those who were killed and those injured. What a remarkable young man and what an incredible story. After watching this interview and understanding the circumstances this passage came to mind.

It helps paint a beautiful picture of what Christ did for all of us. He threw His body in front of the shooter…Satan…to save you and to save me. He minimized the suffering by disarming sin, so believers could live in eternity and be reunited with their loved ones. But the most incredible part is what Christ did as it relates to our hero in Nashville. Christ not only took the bullet for strangers and His friends, but He laid down His life also for the shooter. It would be like our hero risking his life for those innocent people in the Waffle House and then taking the bullet for the shooter as the police shot at him.

Rare indeed but that is the commandment we are all given…to love one another, laying down our life for others. I doubt many of us will find ourselves in situations like Nashville, but we can lay down our lives in other ways. We can show grace where grace isn’t deserved. We can forgive when there has been no apology. We can give a few dollars when our bank account is low. We can serve others who are less fortunate. We can lay down our own entitlements and judgment.

All we must do is lift our eyes off our own interests, look around and see the millions of places in which we can make small differences in the lives of hurting people. After all, it is the least we can do for the most sacrificial act that was ever done on our behalf…the very least.

Walking Like a Turkey

“He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle.” Psalm 103:5

The eagle is the most majestic bird in the sky, but in the life of every eagle, they will go through a molting process that can bring with it a great depression. This is a wilderness time that all eagles will face. During this great depression the eagle will walk like a turkey being too weak to fly. The molting eagle finds himself in the valley with its feathers falling out. They lose their ability to see, as their vision weakens during this time. When the molting eagle gets in this last state, if they don't renew, they will die. At this time, they will choose some area of a mountain range where the sun can shine directly on them, and they will lie on a rock and bathe in the sun. www.hopeinhull.com.

I couldn’t help but to consider our Christian lives when reading about this process in my Bible study. If you have been on this earth for any length of time you completely understand that we each have feathers that weigh us down. The difference between me and an eagle is that I have found myself in the wilderness more times than once. There have been times when I have ‘walked like a turkey’ instead of soaring like an eagle. God didn’t place this comparison in His word without an intentional call to get rid of our weighty feathers. Just as the eagle’s feathers get covered with dirt and oil over time, so do the attitudes of our heart. We cannot fly because of the feather of bitterness and unforgiveness. The feathers of grief keep us weak and distort our vision of a joyful future. Multiple feathers weigh us down with worry…guilt…fear.

There comes a time in every believer’s life when God reminds us that we were meant to soar, but we must lose those feathers that are keeping us in the wilderness. Like the eagle, it is imperative that we choose an area where the Son can shine directly on us…where we lie in quietness before Him…and bathe in His word. We must cling tight to the feathers that will help us return to flight. The feather of gratitude…the feather of faith…the feather of fellowship… the feather of hope. These are the lovelies that God places in our lives to sustain us during the challenging times. These are the feathers that God never meant us to discard. They are the 'good things' that God used to satisfy us while waiting on our flight.

When we have been renewed through the gentle touch of God we will once again have a desire to mount up with new energy, to soar among the heavens, and to enjoy our new perspective. Don’t despise the molting process. It is what moves people from turkeys to eagles!

From Shackles to Crowns

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” Acts 16:45-26

I love to sing! I don’t just mean sing…I mean sing loudly! I told my daughter the other day that I am confident God has a special crown for Bruce in heaven for having listened to my singing for over 34 years. I sing joyfully, not beautifully but when I worship with my songs during the tough times something beautiful occurs in my heart…in my mind…in my spirit. That something is revival with God...the ultimate Lovely...and it powers my ability to persevere and endure my midnight.

Paul and Silas knew a thing or two about singing and praising God in the darkest times. They were thrown in the deepest and dampest part of the prison shackled with chains. This passage tells us that it was midnight when they began to sing. I’m trying to picture this moment and I have come up with so many questions. Did one of the men awake to the quivering melody of the other one? Which one joined the other in praising God and finding the lovely in their not-so-lovely situation? Were there distant cries from the prisoners that prompted them to sing? Did they pump up the volume in praise when they realized their prison doors had flung open and their chains had come loose? I would give anything to see the smile on God’s face and hear the angels join in praise as they watched from heaven.

These men teach us so much during their incarceration. They teach us that God hears every word of our prayers, and every note we sing in praise. They teach us that when we share our testimonies through word, action or song we bring hope to others who are chained to their circumstances. They teach us that to know God is to love God, and true worship isn’t based on our situation but our God. They display the ultimate ‘finding lovely in God’ despite their midnight hour.

Is this season of life your midnight? Are you chained to a life event that keeps you imprisoned from fully experiencing the lovely things that our Father desires to give? Are you singing while you are waiting for daylight? “Troubles don’t always leave, but their power fades. Because the beauty is too much for it. Looking at Jesus is the remedy for the power of suffering. Looking at Jesus, worshiping Him, puts your eyes on His ability instead of on the cell around you or the chains on your feet. And sometimes, when you’re persevering through the suffering, letting it build your character and bring hope, worship is also the key that unlocks your cell door.” Looking for Lovely, Annie Downs, p. 68.

So, look for lovely in all the right places as you walk on this earth, because one day foundations will crumble, the doors on earth will fling open, and we will exchange our shackles for crowns.

God Knows

“LORD, you have examined me and know all about me.  You know when I sit down and when I get up.  You know my thoughts before I think them.  You know where I go and where I lie down.  You know everything I do.  LORD, even before I say a word, you already know it.  You are all around me – in front and in back – and have put your hand on me.” Psalm 139:1-6

When my sisters and I were young children I’m embarrassed to say that the older ones didn’t always treat the younger ones as we should have.  We would tell them things that weren’t true, and we would do things to them behind their back.  Benay would take it in stride but Beth would lose her mind over the ‘atrocities’ and would begin yelling at us.  Unfortunately, her explosions were probably what we were aiming for.   Her battle cry always ended with ‘Well GOD KNOWS!’ As soon as those words came out of her mouth the fun would dissolve into guilt and the aggravation would end…for that day. 

Today is Beth’s earthly birthday but March 15^th marks the day she joined Jesus and began walking with Him among the saints and angels.  Because of God’s great grace, she celebrates that what she used to know in part is now fully known to her in heaven.  She gets to hear how God knew she loved Him and would turn to Him in her final years.  She gets to see the wink of His eye which reminds her that He did know all those times what her sisters did in secret to aggravate her.  God knew that she would be called to walk the streets of gold before any of us.  God knew that she would be a testament to all while walking with grace through cancer.  He knew that Paul would have the strength to raise Sydney on his own and would do it well.  He knew that Sydney would grow into a beautiful blend of her parents.  God knew then…and He knows now.

He knows every tear we have cried, and He knows every time our hearts have been broken.  He knows how to comfort us and how to bless us.  He knows when we will take our last breath, and He knows every unjust thing done to us.  He knows when your dream will be fulfilled, and He knows in what manner mine will be given to me. 

Today we will celebrate the life of Beth, but we can all celebrate the truth of that beautiful battle cry of which she would remind us…GOD KNOWS!

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Co 13:9-13 

Happy Birthday Beth and you were right…God does know!