Priorities This Week

I have had a tough week. It has been busy and full of long days. There have been a couple nights where I have not arrived home until after my babes were fast asleep. It has been draining. It has been emotional. It ended with fatique and stress and fear.

Last night as I lay next to Luke, tucking him in and talking with him about his day, I noticed his bible on the bookshelf by his bed. He has a pretty cool "boy" kind of bible. It is navy blue, full of cool maps, and has a latch around it. The latch was closed shut.

 I looked at the Bible and said to Luke, "Hey, what is that up there on your bookshelf?

Have you read it lately?" 

And in that instant, God pierced my heart!

It was as if audibly I could hear God say to me, "HAVE YOU?" 

My heart crinched. My eyes began to get wet. My stomach sunk.

I knew the answer.

God knew the answer.

I have not been faithful in my reading this week. I have not gone to Him first. I have written in appointments to see student teachers, have lunch with friends, meet with colleagues, and even do some shopping at Target, but I have not written in the number one appointment for the week....Time with My Lord and Savior!

Oh, I gave Him a nod here and there. I read a friend's blog. I spent some time in a forwarded email about Him. I prayed at meals and at bedtime with my children. But I didn't give myself the time I needed with Him. And...my week was crazy! It was hectic! It was long! I was drained! I was emotional! I was sinful! I had my priorities mixed up!

Convicted....

So here is next week's schedule:

Saturday:Time with God...Happy Birthday to Matt...everything else

Sunday: Time with God....everything else

Monday: Time with God....everything else

Tuesday: Time with God...everything else

Wednesday: Time with God...everything else

Thursday: Time with God....everything else

Friday: Time with God...everything else

Saturday; Time with God...everything else

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!"

(which means Teacher).    -John 20:16

Dear Lord,

Forgive me for not putting you first this week. Help me to turn to you.

Revise my schedule and my life!

AMEN!

One Word

There aren't too many words in the English language that can change the course of your life in an instant. Saying the word "pudding" or "billy goat" or "addition" doesn't usually have much of an impact on the course of your day. But, then their are those words that do change a life in an instant. Words like "cancer" or "wedding". When we hear these words- life changes! The words bring a string of emotions with them, a string of "what ifs" - life changes!

I was thinking this week that there is another word that has the same effect-hearing it can change your life. When we hear the word, we think of so many additional words...love, forgiveness, wholeness, eternity, humility....

Jesus!  

A few  years back I had the experience of hearing Billy Graham's daughter speak. She is a true southerner from the great state of North Carolina. She has a drawl like no other when she speaks! Her words are long and drawn out. She takes her time when she speaks. She speaks with passion and fire. She says things like "Law...yer" and "ya'all". And when she says the name of Jesus, she really says the name of Jesus:

"JEEEESUSSSS!"   

Our family took a liking to the way she says His name and we have begun to copy her North Carolina drawl  in our home! My children, husband and I will say His name in the same long, drawn out manner:

"JEEEESUSSSS!"   

"JEEEESUSSSS!"   

Just taking the time to draw out the name of our Lord and savior does something for my body. It has an effect on my mind and my spirit. I absolutely fill up when I say His name in this manner... 

"JEEEESUSSSS!"   

One word can change your life! In ways that are vastly different from other words in our English language, the word, Jesus, can change your life!  Just saying it, thinking about it, meditating on it, can change your life. You see, the word Jesus, is so much more than a word. It is a representation of the man who came, and willingly gave His life for mine. It is a representation of my sin being nailed to a cross in forgiveness. It is a representation of a solid rock on which to plant my life! It is a representation of a changed life, of a life of darkness turned into light!

"JEEEESUSSSS!" can change your life! 

Today, take all that comes with Him...love, forgiveness, humility, care, wholeness, guidance, and most importantly eternity with Him!

Psalm 145:18

"The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." 

The Carroll Group!

I just have to post a thank you to all of the women in my home town of Carroll who stepped up this past week. It seems like simple steps...bringing toys for kids, cleaning out dresser drawers, washing pj's, dresses, and t-shirts and donating to The Covering...but it produces big results! Tears filled my eyes as I organized the 7 tubs of donated items to eventually bring to the orphanage in Sierra Leone! I can only imagine the huge teethy smiles we will see when the children open the tubs and see the cars, blocks, legos and baby dolls!

Again tears filled my eyes when I opened my email to read Kelly saying her family is going to sponsor the caregiver needs for little Malige! $40 a month...sacrificing one dinner out a month here means constant, loving care for little Malige across the world!!!

WOW! Simple acts...Big results!

Psalm 105:4 

"Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always!"

           Malige is on the left! 

           His best buddy, Emmanuel is on the right! 

"GeeGus" in My Heart

Faith was in kindergarten. Every day she would come home with her green folder, full of the activities of her day. Spelling tests. Addition worksheets. Important notes. Craft items and the drawings that kept her busy on the bus ride.

A week before Valentine's day she unpacked her backpack and from within the depths of her green folder emerged a beautiful, colorful picture of a heart. Inside the heart were various boxes, each with a written word inside it.

The top box in the heart said, "GeeGus". Other boxes included words such as "Animoos". "Family", "Frens" and "Hom". Since Faith is our third child, I had gotten pretty good at reading the written work of our young children and could make out what most of the words in the boxes said...animals, family, friends, and home. But the top box had me stumped. "GeeGus?" Hmmmm.....

"Faith, what is this you did at school?" I asked, anxiously awaiting her explanation of the word in the top box of the heart.

"Oh Mommy, this is all of the things that fill up my heart!"

"Oh", I replied, "what are they all?"

And then in a moment I will never forget, Faith looked at me with her big blue eyes and said, "Well, this top one here is JESUS because He lives in my heart!"

You wouldn't have been able to measure the smile on my face that day. My heart was absolutely filled with love for my daughter in that moment. JESUS! TOP SPOT! NUMERO UNO! She said it in such a matter of fact tone, as if saying, "Well, why wouldn't Jesus be in the top spot in my heart?"

"I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a 
little child will not enter it!"

Luke 18:17

Oh, to have this faith every day! Faith without seeing! Faith without fully understanding! Faith like a child! My daughter presents us with the true understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He came to die for us. To live in our heart. He wants the top spot! He doesn't want to be placed behind family, friends, or home! He would never take those things that matter so much to you out of your heart, but He should always be in the top box!

And this is part of the lesson from this kindergarten activity -  Jesus will never demand the top spot. Rather, he requests that you put Him there! Faith had to decide where to write "GeeGus". She could have put him in the middle, on the left or at the bottom, but instead she chose the top spot! Other kids might have used that box for chocolate, video games or their bicycle! 

You see, you choose where He gets to sit in your heart!

Oh, dear God, I pray for forgiveness for the times I have not given you the top box. Help me remember that you will not force yourself into that spot. Help me to have the faith of a child and put you there every day, in every instance of my life! Be the center of my heart Lord! Take top lead! The number one box is yours!

My niece Ella steps up!

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 

Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." 

Psalm 82:3-4 

Tears welled up in my eyes. There she was, sitting on the floor, tiny and frail. Her dress hung off of her malnourished body. Her hair was matted. The video of Lucy festered emotions I had hidden for the past few weeks.

My heart pounded and my lip quivered at the thought of having to speak to the thirteen or so women gathered at my sister's home. These women had taken time out of their lives, away from their own children, to hear the story of the children in Africa. They had filled an entire side of the room with beautiful new toys for kids they had never met, children they may never see in person! "Dear God, give me the strength to share your will!"

As the video played, I snuck a look to the left and my eye caught the eye of my seven year old niece, Ella. She was glued to the video, watching the tiny brown skinned children as they longed to be held, as they hoped for food. 

The tears continued to fall from my eyes. "Why God?" "Why must they suffer and my own niece, my own daughter, my own sons have so much?" "What are you telling me to do God? What do you want me to do?"

Words were difficult to come by Thursday night. I wanted to scream about all of the things my eyes had seen in Africa. Children with out clothes digging through heaps of garbage.The little boy who ran to me, begging for the bottle of water I was holding. Children wandering alone on the street. The little girl with sweat pouring off her face as she tried to carry a bundle of wood on her head up a hill in the sweltering African heat. Olive, who desperately wants to go to college and traveled miles to reach us, just to take a shot at getting the chance for college. I wanted to let them know how desperate the need is. I wanted them to realize that my little Lucy, the little girl who touched our hearts so deeply, might be dead tomorrow if we don't help today! 

And...it is not just Lucy...

Erica, from The Raining Season, writes:

"Osseh and Quami were contacted by city council and were asked to make a visit to Shenge...an area directly affected by a ferry accident that claimed several hundred lives last September. They were told of the devastation the loss has caused a specific village in the Shenge area. Many children were left orphaned...the loss was just staggering. So the guys took off to the village two days ago to assess the situation and see if TRS could do anything to help their children left without family.
 

They returned late last night and contacted us first thing this morning. They were both very shaken by all they had seen. This is strange because they are so used to the poverty of SL...it doesn't phase them as much...But this trip was very different. They described the deplorable living conditions and how malnourished the children were...after hearing their accounts I am now convinced that the statistics ring true...1 in 3 children lose their lives before they are 5 in SL...all due to preventable issues."

Friday morning my seven year old niece went to school with three Raining Season business cards. She shared every one of those cards with someone, asking them to please go on line and sponsor a child! Ella knew what her eyes saw! Kids...dieing...kids...in need...kids who want to be kids. If Ella can see it, and step up, can't you? 

http://savetheorphan.blogspot.com

Seriously, this girl has STEPPED UP!

Wow...talk about humbling...check out what this girl is doing in Uganda...

http://amazima.org/blog.html

But, remember....God wants even the small steps in your life. Start now...don't delay! Just obey Him!!!

And hey...share what God is telling you in the comments so we all can hear!!!

Jen

Do Not Grow Weary!

Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not grow weary in well-doing,

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Since returning to the United States, I have begun to feel the tug of complacency. I can get in my SUV, grab my coffee, and walk across our beautifully groomed campus to my lovely office every day. I can then return to my heated home, my big comfy bed, and sleep with a roof over my head!

It has been pulling at me. "You are blessed. It is easier just to sit in the comfort of your home"

Tugging..."It is easier to say no, that date won't work to come speak about the children of Sierra Leone."

Dragging me in, "Why bother sponsoring a child, or two, or three...God blessed you, just accept it! You want nice things in your home!" 

IT -the tug - the pull - the dragging down to complacency....it is Satan! He does not want me to remain on fire for these children. He does not want me to work overtime to bring change! He does not want Christ's love to shine! 

And then these pictures of Lucy arrive in my inbox from my friend Tracy:

And I think, "Get away Satan! God has given me a mission, and at the risk

of becoming the girl who never stops talking about Sierra Leone, I will complete it!"

May God help me to never become complacent! To never grow weary! To never lose sight of His will in my life!

Words from my sis...

I wanted to share some words that my sister used to inspire those in her circle:

just remember it doesn't take much to touch someone's heart... to turn their day around... you do it by a simple gesture... a random act...you do it by just simply putting someone else before yourself. you do it by listening to that small quiet voice whispering in your ear... the one that ever so gently is encouraging you on... ever so gently pushing you forward to no longer to be consumed with yourself and you own struggles... but instead to step out and to step up... to do something... anything for someone else no matter how simple it may seem to you.... in their eyes it just might be the light shining through the darkness. PROVERBS 24:12

Just following this, she received word from a friend that she had several boxes of clothes and toys to donate to The Covering! 

Small steps...big results!!! 

Also, tonight I received promising news about Lucy and the others we have been praying for. God is always at work...even when we don't readily see the results!