I finish every one of my devotional times with a Psalm and I've gotten so I actually read them aloud to God. It has been very powerful over the last four months. This particular verse stood out as I read through 62. I have spent the last four months learning how to pour out my heart to God. I have practiced taking things to Him and visualized dumping my basket of worries and struggles at the foot of His throne. It's been a practical way for me to leave earthly things in the hands of the Sovereign. It's my way of seeking refuge in God during times of uncertainty and difficulty. Learning to trust God for everything, particularly His providence of my earthly needs, has been a long road. I have been given a strong and active faith in God, but He has really challenged me to think about how I show Him my trust in who He is and His promise to provide for my life. Leaving things at Jesus' feet has been a way for me to put into practice this trust that I have been struggling with. Oh, trust me, I put the things back in my basket from time to time, but then I dump them out again and again. It is a process, slow and painful at times, but that's what brings me back to the Throne of Grace. Every time.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Back To the Throne of Grace
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Friday, April 27, 2018
Just Ask
Acts 4:20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
This is Peter and John speaking to the church leaders about their time with Jesus and sharing Him with the world. They could not be stopped. They were talking about their friend, their Lord. They had lived life with Jesus. They were with him when he preached, when he performed miracles, when he was crucified, and when he was risen. They were now living out the life Christ had called them to, bringing people to Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit in them. Peter and John were speaking from personal experience. We too can have personal experiences with Jesus. We can spend time with the risen Christ and get to know him as our friend and Lord. And when we have those experiences, we will be compelled to speak about it with whomever will listen. Seek Jesus and you will find Him. Tell Him you want to know Him and be ready to experience Him. Accept who He is and what He has done and your life will never be the same. The key is to spend time with Him like you spend time with anyone you want to get to know. Invite Him into your quiet time and then be still before Him. Just ask.
This is Peter and John speaking to the church leaders about their time with Jesus and sharing Him with the world. They could not be stopped. They were talking about their friend, their Lord. They had lived life with Jesus. They were with him when he preached, when he performed miracles, when he was crucified, and when he was risen. They were now living out the life Christ had called them to, bringing people to Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit in them. Peter and John were speaking from personal experience. We too can have personal experiences with Jesus. We can spend time with the risen Christ and get to know him as our friend and Lord. And when we have those experiences, we will be compelled to speak about it with whomever will listen. Seek Jesus and you will find Him. Tell Him you want to know Him and be ready to experience Him. Accept who He is and what He has done and your life will never be the same. The key is to spend time with Him like you spend time with anyone you want to get to know. Invite Him into your quiet time and then be still before Him. Just ask.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Put On Love
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
My focus is on love today. It seems so simple, doesn't it? And yet we struggle. What does it look like to "put on love"? It's not easy, and it takes the mind and heart of Christ to do it at any level. We are called to love others in any and all circumstances, to show the love of Christ to all people. It's hard when we have different view points, and there are lots of different view points these days. Jobs, laws, policies, politics, education, social issues, religion, etc. Jeepers, even within Christianity there are many different view points...baptism, communion, church membership, women in leadership, sin, and so on. We will never see eye to eye with every other person. However, in Christ we can all have the same reaction to each other no matter our stance. We can love on each other. We can practice selfless, giving, agape love on each other. I think it was Jesus who said, "they will know you by your love for one another," or something close to that.😊 Not, "they will know you by your opinion." Love on each other through the help of Jesus. Find common ground in the love of Christ. And if the love of Christ is not common ground, choose to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient instead of being right.
Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
My focus is on love today. It seems so simple, doesn't it? And yet we struggle. What does it look like to "put on love"? It's not easy, and it takes the mind and heart of Christ to do it at any level. We are called to love others in any and all circumstances, to show the love of Christ to all people. It's hard when we have different view points, and there are lots of different view points these days. Jobs, laws, policies, politics, education, social issues, religion, etc. Jeepers, even within Christianity there are many different view points...baptism, communion, church membership, women in leadership, sin, and so on. We will never see eye to eye with every other person. However, in Christ we can all have the same reaction to each other no matter our stance. We can love on each other. We can practice selfless, giving, agape love on each other. I think it was Jesus who said, "they will know you by your love for one another," or something close to that.😊 Not, "they will know you by your opinion." Love on each other through the help of Jesus. Find common ground in the love of Christ. And if the love of Christ is not common ground, choose to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient instead of being right.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
So This Is 40
If you asked me at 25 where I thought my life would be when I was 40, I definitely had an expectation. I would have told you married, with twins (not sure how I figured that was going to happen), principal in the SFSD, and financially secure as a short list. I mean, after all, that is the normal way life goes for most people. It seemed incredibly reasonable and attainable.
And, here I sit, at 40, and the only thing I have achieved according to my 25 year-old self is that I am married. And, frankly, I'm married to someone I would have never thought about at 25. If you would have told me at 25 that when I was 40 I would be married to a musician and filmmaker, with no children, working for his (and my) business and financially eeking by, I would have never believed it.
So this is life at 40. I'm married to a guy who is my best friend and everything I needed in a husband, and isn't at all what I was looking for at 25. I don't have kids, and I'm totally okay with that, since I've parented about 2000 in my education career. I have been there, almost done that with my educator career. And while that ended as somewhat of a disappointment for me, the blessings of being "retired" from that career at 40 are far outweighing what that career would have ever been. And financially, we are actually in a better place today than we've ever been with very little cash flow.
What can I say? God has known the best life for me my entire life. He has had me on the best path, even when I was walking blindly on it. Do I regret the things I tried to attain and the effort I put forth to get them? Not even close, for that effort has made me the person I am today. I can look at a life that does not meet my 25-year-old self's expectations and see the hand of God throughout. I've learned to live with expectancy in God's work, not expectations that are of the world. I am living the best possible life in Christ, no doubt about it. The joy and sorrow of all that has been is what gives me the hope and assurance that Jesus is always with me and God is always working on my behalf.
Oh yeah, and the whole Mom pancreatic cancer battle...well that's is just another unexpected at 40. There is so much more depth to my life because of her battle, but there's not even room for that in this post. It's already too long. 😉
Blessings on you as you walk through life. Seek the One who made you, for He knows what is best for you. The glory is God's! Jeremiah 29:11
And, here I sit, at 40, and the only thing I have achieved according to my 25 year-old self is that I am married. And, frankly, I'm married to someone I would have never thought about at 25. If you would have told me at 25 that when I was 40 I would be married to a musician and filmmaker, with no children, working for his (and my) business and financially eeking by, I would have never believed it.
So this is life at 40. I'm married to a guy who is my best friend and everything I needed in a husband, and isn't at all what I was looking for at 25. I don't have kids, and I'm totally okay with that, since I've parented about 2000 in my education career. I have been there, almost done that with my educator career. And while that ended as somewhat of a disappointment for me, the blessings of being "retired" from that career at 40 are far outweighing what that career would have ever been. And financially, we are actually in a better place today than we've ever been with very little cash flow.
What can I say? God has known the best life for me my entire life. He has had me on the best path, even when I was walking blindly on it. Do I regret the things I tried to attain and the effort I put forth to get them? Not even close, for that effort has made me the person I am today. I can look at a life that does not meet my 25-year-old self's expectations and see the hand of God throughout. I've learned to live with expectancy in God's work, not expectations that are of the world. I am living the best possible life in Christ, no doubt about it. The joy and sorrow of all that has been is what gives me the hope and assurance that Jesus is always with me and God is always working on my behalf.
Oh yeah, and the whole Mom pancreatic cancer battle...well that's is just another unexpected at 40. There is so much more depth to my life because of her battle, but there's not even room for that in this post. It's already too long. 😉
Blessings on you as you walk through life. Seek the One who made you, for He knows what is best for you. The glory is God's! Jeremiah 29:11
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