Trust Him...He Knows The Way.

I have a memory that never fails to make me smile.

It was a very hot summer day and I was doing some work at my church. My youngest daughter was with me.When we finished whatever task I was working on we headed home.

On foot.

I asked Salome if she would like to stop by the store and pick up something tasty. I warned her it would make the trip longer, and hotter, but she chose the “something tasty”.

On our way home Salome began complaining about the heat. Our usual route home had very little shade, and was very hilly. I decided on a detour.

“Mom?”

“Ya Honey?”

“Do you know where you’re going?”

I had to laugh. At this time Salome was about five or six years old.

“Yes, Salome. I know exactly where we’re going.”

The detour we took was shady and less hilly, but unfamiliar to my daughter. So it wasn’t long until she questioned me again.

“Mom, are you SURE you know where we are?”

“Yes, Salome, I know where we are. Stop worrying.”

We hadn’t walked much further when,

“MOM!!! WE’RE GOING TO GET LOST!!!”

I don’t recall how the rest of the walk went, though we obviously made it home just fine, but ever since then God has used this memory to remind me that He knows the way.

All I wanted to do that day was make the way home a little more bearable for my daughter. She, however was more comfortable with the old familiar way. Never mind that it was hotter and a much tougher walk.

I’m sure I was tempted to get at least a little annoyed with her, except I could see myself in my little girl.

I’m a lot like that. The old ways may be harder, but at least they are familiar.

What is it about human nature that resists trusting God?

He is bigger than me, older than me, smarter than me…

Yet when He takes me along an unfamiliar path I hesitate, tense up, and with trembling voice I shout,

“GOD!!! I’M GOING TO GET LOST!!!”

With compassion He takes my little hand into His eternal one and says, “With me, you are never lost.”

Nodding, I try to ignore my unfamiliar surroundings and just focus on His big, strong hand holding mine.

I keep following, but I’m still a little…

…anxious.

Suicide Watch

It is so wonderful having a big family. Oh, it gets chaotic in my house, but I am not really looking forward to the day when they leave the nest one by one. I love the days when we are all together laughing and at peace. I love having six children to kiss goodnight.

What I hate are the times when life is going on as usual, then suddenly a scream of pain shatters the silence. I hate turning a corner with my arms filled with laundry only to run into an upturned face covered in blood.

I'll never forget when little Chelsea's hand was slammed in the car door and we had to take her for stitches. I'll always remember the terror of 2 year old Shannon falling out of a three story apartment window when the screen gave way as she leaned on it. The story of John Daniel playing Superman and putting his foot through his glass window as he was attempting to fly is classic....blood everywhere (And more stitches). Calling the ambulance on Christmas day because Salome thought it would be fun to drink finger nail polish remover was almost as interesting as calling poison control the day her little brother Mikos decided to drink bleach. Michael is 5 and I have no stories to tell about him. He will hopefully allow his mom to raise him in peace.

I thought it a very apt description when I heard parenting described as "suicide watch". We love our children, feed them, clothe and shelter them...and try our best to keep them from killing themselves until they grow up. Perhaps pastoring, leading, or mentoring should all be labeled the same way.

There is something rather perverse about human nature. I've noticed from the moment people get saved you really do have to watch them like a hawk. There are people who, no matter how good God is to them, will go out of there way to sabotage their walk. God gives them life and they do what they can to destroy that life.

They hang out with the wrong people, listen to and look at all the wrong things. They won't listen to wisdom and think you're trying to control their lives.

You can preach, pray, and praise them and they will still find a way to get entangled in pride, bitterness, or offense.

They are the ones who are bored at prayer meetings, but love to hang out with people who gossip. They find no value in reading the Bible but love entertainment. (The more carnal the better) They love to talk about everything but Jesus. You look at their immaturity (They've been in the church 15 years) and wonder if you're wasting your time.

Yet God says to bear with them, be patient, don't give up. Maybe they won't let you disciple them but keep watching over them. Don't let them kill themselves. Perhaps with time and trials they will weary of their way of doing things and let Jesus be Lord.

Perhaps they will soften their hearts and actually get saved.

Don't stop watching.

"Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, 'You are going to die,' and you don't sound the alarm warning them that it's a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I'll hold you responsible. But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they'll most certainly die for their sin, but you won't die. You'll have saved your life.

Ezekiel 3:17-19 The Message

Mothering The Motherless

In a day of women leaving their homes by the droves to pursue their own interests we are fast becoming a nation of not just the fatherless, but now the motherless. 

Many children who have been abandoned by their fathers have turned to crime, violence, addictions and sexual immorality.  They are angry, suicidal, and despair of having any success in life.

I shudder to think what will happen to children who lack the nurturing influence of that mother who has decided to abandon her home and run after men half her age.

We have sent out a message that men need to father the fatherless. 

We now need mothers to rise up as well.

We need older women to help young mothers...married or single.  We need homes open to countless of homeless teens or twenty-somethings who have no one to love them.  We need women who will teach girls and young women how to cook, clean, and yes, sew on a button. We need women who will bake the cookies and pour the milk for the kids that come home to an empty house.  We need women to put their arms around boys and tell him they have worth. We need women to come along side of other women who are forced to work countless hours to make ends meet and bring that loving encouragement when they feel they are neglecting their children. 

We need ...

MOTHERS.

If you have never had a child go get one.  If your children are adults use your experience to help bring another child into adulthood.  If you have a house full already then what difference does one or two more make?

On this Mother's Day we will fill our churches in this nation and be honored.  Enjoy your day, but as you do look around for that one whose mother is not present and let God use you to fill that empty soul that was left

MOTHERLESS.

Say Yes And Love It!

Learning To Say No Without Feeling Guilty

The Power Of Saying No

The Book Of No...250 Ways To Say It And Mean It And Stop People Pleasing Forever

These are just a sampling of the self help books that have been written in order to help people kick the bad habit of saying YES to everything. 

Now I have never read any of these books, but as I was considering the subject of this blog I just wanted to see what kind of titles are out there.  Each one seems to be written to teach people how to say NO so they can have more time to do what they want for themselves.

When I Googled to see what kind of titles I could find on SAYING YES I found more of the same just worded differently.  Such as

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life

And that's the bottom line isn't it?  We want to be in control of our own lives and be free to do whatever we want.

Let's just make this easier on all of us shall we?  There is no need to read books on the subject.  If you and I can find out what is really important, set those priorities, and commit to let not get us off track it will be easy to know when to say YES and when to say NO.

The problem is most of us are not really honest about what our priorities are.

When I say us I mean Christians.

We say we believe in Jesus but we find so many other things that are more important than...

GOD?

So we say NO to everything He says is important.

We say NO to serving, NO to prayer, NO to giving, NO to obeying, NO to following...no, no, no, no

NO!!!

It seems to me we don't need to read books on how to say NO.  Our selfish nature has been doing that ever since we learned to speak.

When are we going to spend money on books that teach us to

DENY OURSELVES

and say YES to those things that benefit everyone else but us?

If our top priority was to seek and love God and to serve and love people then we would be saying NO to everything that took priority over that.

When Jesus called the twelve to come follow Him they said YES and dropped everything to do it.

When He invited the rich young ruler to sell all and be His follower the young man turned from Jesus with a sorrowful NO because He loved His worldly possessions more than God.

But what about enjoying what the world has to offer?  Is it a sin to have fun, enjoy a little luxury now and then?

Absolutely not...

That is not until the call comes to set it aside, leave it altogether, or give it away, and we look Jesus square in the face and say...

NO.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  MK 8:34 ESV

Surviving The Work Of The Lord

After nearly 18 years of salvation I am not doing less for God but more. 

When I gave my life to Jesus in 1995 I was a single mom and my ministry was cleaning the very small first building of a new church.   Fast forward to 2013.  My resume now reads something like this;

"Married mother of 6, helper to husband,cleaning team ministry leader (of the church that has now grown from 30 plus people in 1995 to over 500),teacher in the children's ministry, assistant to the children's ministry coordinator, bible study (small group) assistant, homeschooling mom, homemaker, local art school employee, writer, etc...."

You get the picture.

Someone may ask, "How do you do it?"  or "How do you carry such a load?"

Oh there have been times in the beginning that I would cry and ask God why He wanted me to do more.  Can't I just be a

MOM?

I think alot of Christians ask that type of question.

"Why do I need to work Lord?  You see all I already have on my plate and you want me to do more?"

Yes, God wants you to do more

MORE!

Why? 

Because He is building His kingdom and He is building,

YOU.

Back in 1995 there was no way I could do for the Lord all I am doing now.  About every two or three years He would give me a little more to do...or a new baby.  Like I said, in the early years I would cry.  Now I laugh.  Okay sometimes I still cry.   But I know God will give me the strength, and the GRACE to do all He wants me to do.

But I will tell you a secret.  I am not some super woman.  Nor am I so Holy Ghost that I can bear this load all on my own.  No.  There are some things that I do that keep me going strong for God.  I will share those things but let me first say this.  Everyone is called to do

SOMETHING.

That something is nonnegotiable.  We don't get to choose what that something is.  We don't get to put it off until a more convenient time.  When the call of God comes God is listening for only one reply,

YES LORD.

Some never answer the call (command).  They actually believe they get to pick and choose in the Kingdom of God.

Some say YES.  But then when the load gets to heavy, or boring, or inconvenient they quit.  But because deep down they know that they are disobeying God they lose joy, they get bitter, and sometimes they leave.  The weight of knowing they should still be doing what God commanded becomes too hard to bear.

But others say YES and keep saying YES.

They do it with joy and they serve when they are tired, or busy at other things, or sick, or even when the work gets repetitive and they would rather do something more

FUN.

Over the years I have watched and learned how to survive the work of God from great men and women who have gone before me.  If you do these things you can also continue in God's will for you and not just survive but

THRIVE.

1. We don't get to choose.  Settle it that when the call comes the proper response is a simple "yes".

2.  Pray. Pray. Pray.  In prayer you will find strength to go on when things get tough.  You can ask God to give you a fresh vision for the work when it gets boring or you feel it's not productive.  You can be to the bone honest with God about how much you dislike what He gave you to do and He won't hate you.  Then you can say, "Never the less, Your will be done."

3.  Talk to your leader.  When you want to quit go to the one who won't feel sorry for you but will give you the Word of God, a good swift kick in the pants, and the encouragement to press on.

4.  Take the word QUIT out of your vocabulary.  Learn that when God is done is done using you in an area He will move you on through leadership...not to sit down and do nothing, but to labor in another area of the kingdom.

Remember God is not just building His kingdom but He is also building the worker.  Do you want to be strong in the Lord?  Building strength requires work.  Do these four things and you cannot help but grow

STRONGER.

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.  Gal 6:9  NLT

...the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the Lord God.  1 Chron 29:1 NKJ

*The above photo is of me and my oldest.  We were doing a salvation drama in our church and I got to be a demon.  Boy was that makeup itchy!

A Disciple? You?

Often when we think about the twelve disciples we unintentionally put them on some mystical plane, when in reality they were just normal folks with some

POTENTIAL.

Really lets think about this.  Out of the 12 Jesus chose one who always put his foot in his mouth and swung a mean sword, a tax collector who was probably ripping off widows, two brothers who could have been gang affiliated, a really negative guy whose motto was "I'd have to see it to believe it", and of course Judas (a thief and a back stabber).  John, who was most comfortable hugged up to Jesus, and Nathanael, who Jesus marked as a man of integrity, were the only two that seemed to have anything going for them.  The other five?  Well just some average Joes that the Bible doesn't have much to elaborate on.

I never would have chosen guys like this.  At least not without the

HOLY SPIRIT.

When you read the Gospels these guys were argumentative, selfish, insensitive, cowardly, and just not very spiritual.

BUT

they had two things going for them.  They LOVED Jesus and they were

OBEDIENT.

Wherever Jesus was they went.  They were never far from their leader.  And, except for that incident in the Garden of Gethsemane, they did whatever He told them to do.

They didn't understand everything Jesus told them, they had selfish motives, and they were prideful.  But they were also

OBEDIENT.

This love and obedience carried them to their destiny and promotion.

How you ask?

When Jesus told them,

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

They actually did it.  They stopped what they were doing and waited in the upper room because Jesus said so.  If they had not obeyed they never would have become the men that others knew had been with the Master.

But what about you?

You have no qualifications and alot of issues, but can you

OBEY?

Can you just LOVE your spiritual leader, your mentor, let me just say it your pastor, and just...

...DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD?

These men had nothing else going for them and despite what you may or may not think neither do you.

But if you can love, if you can trust, if you can follow and obey, you can become that one who will...

TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.

And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven. Heb 13:17

Fuel For The Fire Of God

There will be a day when our works will be judged.  Did we attempt to assist God in the building of His kingdom based on our desires, our opinions, our timetables?  Or did we cash it all in, burn every bridge, and ask God to to let His will be done on earth...

...through us.

Here on earth we humans have those seasons that are just grey.  We lack FIRE and zeal.  We wonder...

AM I LUKEWARM?

The reality is that sometimes the work of God is repetitive and mundane.  This doesn't mean we don't love God.  It's just the state of living in this flesh.  By faith we remain constant, we stir ourselves up, and then a day comes when life is exciting again.

HOWEVER..

...if we are lacking FIRE because we are lacking FUEL that's another story.

In Corinthians Paul states that we must be careful how we build on the foundation of Jesus.  Whatever is built upon Him with gold, silver, and precious stones will endure the test of fire and the builder will receive a reward.  But the works of those who build with wood, hay, and stubble will burn up and there will be NO reward.

What does it mean to build with wood, hay, and stubble?

NOTHING will survive the test of FIRE that was not the will of God.  So everything that is willfulness, rebellion, stubbornness, presumption, will burn. Selfish motives, vainglory, everything built from insecurity, pride, or out of fear will perish.

EVERY fleshly, worldly thing will be nothing but a pile of...

...ASHES.

However there is good news!

These things that will burn in heaven are the very things that we can use as fuel for FIRE right here on EARTH!!!

Take your will, your plans, your wants (even your needs), every HOPE and  every DREAM, your goals, and YES your desire to be liked, loved, and admired AND...

BURN IT.

Decide, right now, that nothing that God did not give you  or tell you to pursue is worth having.  Make an irrevocable decision that it's ALL God or NOTHING at all. Arrange your schedule, your house, your work, your decisions, your thoughts, your recreation, your children, your prayers all around nothing but God and...

...HIS WILL.

I tell you a truth.  There will be such a FIRE in you that no circumstance, no fickle emotion, no man, and no devil in hell can put it out.

But it takes a decision.

Wood, hay, and stubble is readily accessible in abundance because we have a flesh that inherently wants to live for itself and not God.  One way or another it's going to burn. Here on earth where the light of it will shine the way for others and the warmth of it will comfort the weak and the lost? Or in heaven where you will suffer the loss of your reward.

You choose.

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,  each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.  1 Cor 3: 12-15

Picture by Chelsea Johnston