A winning moment...

So it is baseball season...fly balls, batting practice, Nike cleats, popcorn, peanuts, and cracker jacks!

I have always loved the game of baseball.

It can be so relaxing to just sit in the outfield and watch the nine innings of play. Young kids have their hats on and gloves in their hands, anxiously awaiting a long hit or a foul ball. Parents allow their children to roam the seats if there is room. Everyone is relaxed and content and just enjoying a day at the park!

Last night Doug and I watched the final innings of the College World Series. It was all tied up and the two teams were heading into the 10th inning of play! Pitchers had been stretched to their ultimate strength - arms sore, legs weary, heads spinning. Both teams hovered the edge of the dugouts on each and every play, wondering if this at bat would end the game and provide a national championship!

Tension and excitement were high! Emotions were raging. Fans were screaming. I am sure prayers were being lifted up from both sides of the field by various players, coaches, and moms!!!

Then the hit came.

A player from South Carolina hit one to right field and in an instant he knew he had just won the game for his team! He hollered and cheered as he rounded the bases. The winning team piled at home plate, a huge mound of college bodies overtaken with the joy of ending their season as National Champions!

This was the moment they had waited for. This was the moment they had practiced for. This was the moment they had dreamed of!

But the real moment came after the pile had been unmounted. After the players had taken their winning run to outfield to celebrate with their fans. After the coach had been interviewed and the umpires had retreated to the locker rooms.

The real moment came when one of the reporters interviewed a college kid from South Carolina...


"I just want to thank God for this opportunity!"

NINE WORDS...that's it...nothing more...for him, it wasn't about the winning hit, or the number of strike-outs, or the endurance...

For him...it was about GOD!

Now, that's a winning moment!

Dear Lord, Might I also take the time to thank you for the opportunity! The opportunity to breathe again today. The opportunity to look into the eyes of my children. The opportunity to kiss my husband goodbye. The opportunity to share your love, your Word, your saving grace with others! I just want to thank God for this opportunity!

Quote from our pastor

"How much stinkin' blood does Christ have to shed for us to believe in His work on the cross?" 

Insurance

The lady entered our house with a large black bag and began pulling out paper work, needles, a scale and other medical items. My stomach groaned and growled from the 12 hour fast the night before. She didn't smile a lot. I suppose to her it was just another day at the office, and in reality, it's not like a ton hung on this 20 minute appointment in my kitchen. I mean, if my blood work came back abnormal, at least we would know right? If my blood pressure was high (or in my case as it was, low) at least I could visit my family doctor and get a prescription to treat it. And, if by chance, none of it panned out, and the life insurance company denied my application, Doug and I could just search elsewhere and find a new company to insure my life. 

Life insurance...it's a funny thing in some sense. I mean the actual word is a bit ironic. 

I always tell my students, one thing you can be absolutely sure of in life is that YOU WILL DIE. So, really, the words life insurance are kindof ironic right?

I mean, I'm not stupid...I get the gist of it...the insurance policy will pay out money to my survivors upon my death. Yeah...get that...

Just got me thinking...

Our real life insurance comes only from one "company", only from one "person", only from one "true policy"...

"For God so loved the world, He sent His only begotten son, that whomever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life!"  John 3:16

So while the verdict is out on my policy with Hartford life, my policy with Jesus is secure...

How about you????

Emmanuel, Maligie, and Lucy

My prayer today...

Dear Lord, sustain these children. Heal their bodies and bend their hearts toward you Lord if they are not already there. Bring them to our arms if it is your will. Allow us to love on them, care for them, and teach them about you Lord. Whatever the outcome Lord, whatever your will,  thank you for allowing my heart to open to them. Thank you for opening my eyes to a world so much bigger than I ever could have imagined. Thank you for choosing and using me.

Bethany's words...

 Bethany is a college girl in Minnesota that God brought into my life this past year. I love her like a daughter and am broken by her and her friend, Regina's words tonight. You can read their words by following the link below, but I warn you, this is real...these are two college age girls who inspire and motivate me...they are truly stepping up...God is alive and working, but He is also watching to see what each of us does once our eyes are opened...

Read their words here...
http://firefleyes.blogspot.com/

"...Once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't know what to do.
God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know
and holds us responsible to act." -Proverbs 24:12

Denying SELF

"UMBRELLA OF PROTECTION"

When our pastor is about to say something that he believes might cause people to get angry or upset (or better yet, convicted!) he often asks for the "umbrella of protection". So, before you read any further, I too am claiming the umbrella of protection. What is on my heart today is what is convicting my soul. It feels like little toothpicks being poked into my heart over and over...not a big knife, not a sword, just small little pokes all day long, throughout the entire day...

so...

before you read any further, know that these words are just the words of MY HEART today, MY SOUL today, MY CONVICTIONS today...

if God happens to make them YOUR HEART, YOUR SOUL, YOUR CONVICTIONS, then so be it..

if not, then...

UMBRELLA OF PROTECTION!

Denying Self....all day long I have been thinking these two simple words...DENYING SELF...

My "muffin top" over my jeans.

The man with the large belly buying a BBQ sandwich meal and a Pepsi at the stand at Hy-Vee.

Teaching my children to give their "left-over" or "discarded" toys to the orphans while buying new ones for themselves.

Refusing to sell an item in my basement because I "might" use it one day. 

My overflowing closets, garage and basement.

Over and over today, I was reminded at how little I actually do deny my self. I have been blessed beyond belief. I have more in one room of my home than some do in their entire time on earth, and yet, over and over I refuse to deny self. 

The Bible has some harsh words on this topic,

"You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter."

James 5:5

OUCH...

Umbrella of Protection...

Dear Lord, thank you today for opening my eyes to the true blessings I have. Thank you for convicting my spirit and not letting the little poking go away today. Lord, help me to live for YOU and to deny myself!!!

God's Girl

I can't remember where we were...Target? Walmart? Hy-Vee maybe? None-the-less my daughter Faith was with me and she had to use the restroom. Reluctantly I pushed the cart to the far end of the store. "Why can't they put these restrooms in a more convenient location?" 

After reaching the restrooms, strategically placing my cart outside the door, and entering with Faith, I watched as she stood outside the stall. She ever so slightly pushed the stall door open, peaking cautiously around the edge of the door. "Go in Faith! Go in. What are you waiting for?"  I encouraged her and pushed her in a hurried fashion. For goodness sake, we have shopping to do my girl! Why are you being so timid?

Later that night as I sit in prayer and reflection over my day, my thoughts went back to that short time span in the restroom with my daughter. Why was she so timid? It wasn't just there, that day, that I had seen this in her, but in so many other areas of her life too. We get phone calls from friends' saying she wants to come home early from her play dates. We see her tear up before going into a new Sunday school class. She approaches dogs and cats and bunnies with caution. It is Faith...it is who she is. And this, this my dear friend, is vastly different than who I am. You see, I am the bull! I go in with full force. I jump in without hesitation, without concern for the rocks on the bottom of the pool.

So, not fully understanding the difference between her and myself, Faith's timidness was something I pondered that night.

"I will use that timidness! I created her and some day that timidness that I, the creator of the heaven and the earth, put into her, will use that timidness in her life."

It was as if I could audibly hear God speaking directly to me. It was as if He was saying to me,

"Who are you to think I messed up in the creation of your daughter?"

Wow...what a thought! God had every characteristic, every personality trait at His fingertips when He created my children. He could choose from courage, boldness, loyalty, humor and yes, even timidness!  And, for a reason that at times frustrates my fast paced, courageous self, He chose timidness for my daughter!

I don't know why. I can't see her whole life like He can. I can't know when this trait might become absolutely essential for her. I can speculate...might some day she be coaxed by a stranger to get into his vehicle? Might some day she be tempted to partake in something we disapprove of with her teenage friends? Might God some day use this in her to help her say no to a job He doesn't have planned for her? 

God knows...He sees the big picture...I don't! 

And for now, that's enough for me to embrace every one of her qualities and praise my God for making her who she is!

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb."

Psalm 139:13

WARTS!

10-11-12...I keep counting...oh my, this is just disqusting! And the answers remain the same, "just keep trying the liquid film that we prescribed to you...eventually they will clear up."

My daughter, Faith, doesn't seem to be phased by the 12+ warts covering her hands. She knows we have been praying for months for God to heal her and take away the warts, but she goes on with her day, swimming, playing, and wanting to hold hands with friends and family. The warts don't phase her daily life, they don't even phase her faith in God. She tells me one night as I tuck her in, "Well Mommy, I guess God is just busy healing other people."

Now, me on the other hand, I am consumed by these warts. I find them disqusting and gross. I question God's plan...I mean really, Lord, why does my seven year old have to have these? Why must she deal with these? Why must her hand be covered? My faith is rattled just a bit to be honest. I don't understand His thinking on this one. I don't understand why He doesn't just remove them from her. He has the power right? His word tells us He can. So, how come when I close my eyes, and I pray with all my heart, in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, the ULTIMATE HEALER, how come when I open my eyes...they are still there? Huh God...how come????

Today, the answer jumps out at me while I sip my coffee and browse the shelves of the Christian bookstore. In the pages of a book on conversations you must have with your daughter, these words slap me square in the face:

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

You see...the warts are not a problem for Faith! They do not phase her in the least. She spends almost zero time thinking about these warts on her hand. But...I do! I am focused on outward beauty. I am the one who goes to the swimming pool and scours the pavement for other women who look better than I in their black bikinis or those whom I feel "really have no business wearing a bikini!" I am the one who is disturbed by the warts. I am the one who is looking outwardly and not inwardly at my daughter's beauty.

You see, Faith has the biggest, kindest heart of any person I have ever met. She stood at the Walmart aisle and did rock, paper, scissors with her brother to determine who would get to choose the color of the bubble bath. And then when she won, she chose the color he wanted! Her heart brings tears to my eyes. She is the little girl who took popsicle sticks and wrote the names of every child she knew at the orphanage in Africa. Daily she chooses a popsicle stick and prays for that child. She has never met them in person. She maybe never will. Yet she prays for them from her heart and means every word!

You see, today, at the bookstore, I realized Faith's warts have nothing to do with Faith or her belief in God, but everything to do with me!  I am humbled and convicted today to realize that my eyes had been on the external when they should always remain on the internal!

Praise be to our God who gave me a little girl with 15+ warts and a heart who loves the Lord!!!

DISASTER!

Can you remember these images from Haiti following the earthquke? The city was burned. The buildings were crumbled. There was great distress and people wandering aimlessly, not sure where to turn or what to do. No clean water. Dead bodies on the ground. Babies and children sitting alone without parents.

Nehemiah had just heard of similar trouble being brought on Jerusalem.

"Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.

The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."

Chapter 1, v. 3

Sounds like Haiti doesn't it?  Burned. Crumbled. Distress. Disgrace.

Nehemiah was a great leader. He was impassioned, organized, had sound resolve and trust in God. He was quick, unselfish, and determined in his response to problems. So, what did Nehemiah do in the face of such a major crisis? Call in the Red Cross? Make a trip to Jerusalem to evaluate the damage? Send money via text message?

"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days, I mourned and fasted

and prayed before God of heaven."

v. 4

Nehemiah prayed! He made a speed dial call to his God. His Lord and Savior. He didn't act without first going to his boss. To his supervisor. To the one who held the ansswers. There was no Red Cross. There wasn't a ship of doctors to send. There weren't relief concerts. There was the Lord!

Now, this wasn't a quick call to God by any means. There wasn't a ten minute pow-wow session. No email response to the problem at hand. Nehemiah wept and fasted and prayed FOR DAYS! He was on his knees, crying out to our Lord. Asking for direction. Asking for help. Reminding Him of His glory and promises for His people. And, he did this before taking any action. Wept, fasted, prayed!

There was a method to his prayer too...verses 5-11 tell us that Nehemiah's talk with God included four things...

• Praise & Worship
• Confession of his personal sin and the sins of his people
• Reminder to God of His promises to them.
• Asking boldly for deliverance and help.

This is a pattern in the prayer life of great leaders...Billy Graham, Spurgeon, Sproles...they all pray this way...they all are spiritual giants for God! None of these men would go before God without giving Him honor and praise, without confessing sin, without reminding Him of the promises he laid out for us and without having enough boldness to believe in what He promised! And I would venture to say that most of our spiritual giants would not react without first spending some deep, committed time in prayer with their Lord and Savior!

Today....the images of Haiti have left CNN. Anderson Cooper has come home. The concerts have stopped. The text messaging of money has subsided. And yet, there are those personal earthquakes in our own lives....broken relationships, cancer, death, job loss, new opportunities to decide upon...

How will we respond?

Dear Lord,
Help me respond with praise, confession, promises and boldness to the situations in my life today. Help me stop and pray Lord before taking any action. Help me spend quality, long term time with you to hear your voice and see your face! Dear Lord, might you be my Red Cross!