DANGER AHEAD!



There is a house a few blocks from ours. It sits across from the local park on a corner lot. The owners have two dogs, who recently gave birth to puppies, so there is a fence on the yard housing these puppies. They are so adorable...cute brown skin, playful as can be. My children love to ride their bikes up to the house and play with the puppies through the fence.

Today as I approached that corner on my way to work, I noticed a woman walking her little poodle. They were across the road walking on the path in the park. As I stopped to let them cross the street in front of my car, the poodle noticed the puppies. He saw three dogs just across the way and this little tiny white poodle realized that his owner was leading him right into the path of these other dogs.

The leash became tight. The poodle dug his heels in and with all the might he had, he made the non-verbal statement saying, I AM NOT GOING NEAR THOSE OTHER DOGS!

The owner yanked. She tugged. She pulled. I couldn't hear her, but I noticed her mouth moving as she probably gave a stern direction to the little poodle.

The poodle was not budging. Heels dug in. Weight on back legs. I AM NOT GOING NEAR THAT DANGER!

The owner had more strength and began dragging the poodle across the street, in front of my car, toward the puppies, who of course were barking like crazy at the little poodle. Heels dug in, pulling back with all his might, the poodle was literally drug across the street.

It got me thinkin...as Christians, we have to be like the little poodle. We have to be able to sense danger before we ever get to it. We have to dig in our heels, put our weight down and say, "I AM NOT GOING DOWN THAT PATH!"

And, I was thinkin...the owner, the one pullin the leash could represent Satan. He is up for the fight. He wants to win. He wants us to take the path toward danger. He will drag us across the street if he can...into sexual immorality, into overeating, into harsh words with those we love, into gossip...he will take a tight leash and tug.

Today...be the poodle! Although we are small, our God is great! Stand firm in your faith my sister. Dig in your heels against Satan and don't budge. Put up a fuss...bark and sit on your hind legs! Don't go across the street to the danger!

God's whisper today

 

So as I write this blog entry, my daughter is folding clothes. The dishes are put away, beds are made and Doug is sitting in the living room talking with Kobe. 

PEACE...

Clean house...

Calm...

But you see yesterday this was not the case in our home. Yesterday there was chaos. There was frustration. There were clothes in the dryer, dishes piled up, mess on the floor, and bedrooms unkept. We had parents who were exasperated, kids who were getting in trouble, and a home in disarray!

What changed you ask?  Well, let me remind you that today is TUESDAY!  And today is the day my hubby and I keep our little secret that I wrote about last week. Things seem to happen on Tuesdays! 

Today I spent some time in God's word. I prayed for Him to whisper in my ear (or scream in my face!). Our family wheels weren't running smoothly...we had disarray...what do we do Lord?  

Today it came...as I sat on my porch with my Bible and cup of coffee...it came...

Psalm 23:4b "...your rod and your staff they comfort me!" 

I am sure there is some theological meaning for this verse. I am sure there is a commentary on the true meaning of this verse. But, today, on the porch, God whispered...

"Jen, you have the staff...you are using it like crazy with your kids...talking with them, explaining to them, giving positive reinforcement, teaching them my word. But Jen, your kids also need the rod. They need the discipline. The hard consequence. The tangible consequence to their behavior. Something they can feel. They need to know what is expected of them and they need to "feel" a consequence when they don't comply!"

                                                                   -God to me...

Now, let me explain. I am not saying God told me to spank my children! 

I am saying that He reminded me that both the positive guidance and the hard consequences will BRING COMFORT to my children!  My children might "feel" the consequence by having to go to bed early, or having to miss a football game, or not being able to play Wii. They simply were not feeling it from our words and explanations. God reminded me through His whisper that the rod also brings comfort.Kids thrive on explicit expectations, structure, routine and tangible consequences. 

THE STAFF AND THE ROD!

I have known this. I have taught on this. I needed the reminder! 

Thank you for the whisper Lord!

A miracle we have prayed for...

Andrew writes about the miracle we have been praying for...have the kleenex handy!



Choose 2 be blog

I love our God!!!!
Jen

shhh...

So, I have a little secret...but I really wanna to share it.

You see, here is the dilema...

The Word of God tells me that I shouldn't share the secret, or shouldn't make it obvious, because that might be kindof like tooting my own horn or trying to puff myself up. But...I really don't see it like that at all...I really just want to share the secret with you to tell you how AMAZING and COOL and TOTALLY FAITHFUL my God is. You see my secret is showing us these incredible results, these incredible blessings, and this ever faithful discernment. It opens our hearts and our minds to Christ. When we first got word of the secret, we didn't have any preconceived notions. We didn't really expect much from it. We just did it because we both felt called to...plain and simple...we heard the call, so we decided to give it a try and to obey the call.

And...OUR GOD IS EVER FAITHFUL. HE IS AMAZING. HE SPEAKS TO US and GIVES US HOPE and UNDERSTANDING and CONNECTION.

You see our little secret happens every Tuesday. We keep each other accountable to it. We remind each other of our secret. AND...We have seen super amazing things happen each and every time we have done it.

• Things like our little girl in Africa being moved to a new orphanage.
• Things like hearing word that the adoption ban is to be lifted there.
• Things like having a final home study meeting and it going so smoothly that we both couldn't help but give all glory to God above.
• Things like preaching at a college worship service.
• And things like having a conversation about Christ in the hallways of my office with almost all of my colleagues.

Amazing things are happening. Amazing things that have absolutely nothing to do with me and EVERYTHING to do with CHRIST!

Hmmm....do I tell.....do I let you in on the secret.....

The Shade Tree

I remember sitting under a big shade tree with my friend when I was little. We would bring a little snack, some books to read and then just sit and chat, enjoying the comfort of the day under the big oak tree. It seemed like nothing could go wrong under that tree. The big blanket we lounged upon would become home to the occassional ant, but in general all of our needs and desires were met as we sat beneath that tree.

You know, as I get older, I find myself seeking out the same comfort from shade trees. This summer at a baseball game in our town, I had my little niece with me. She was getting tired from the long day of playing with her cousins and she crawled up into my lap. As she dozed off, the heat of the summer sun came down upon her perfectly white, unblemished skin and drops of sweat began to form on my forehead. I searched for a tree to provide relief and happily settled in under the shade of a small tree out near the left field of the baseball diamond.

RELIEF. COMFORT. CARE. 

"The Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your shade at your right hand." 

Psalm 121:5

It seems to me that this verse sums up those feelings of comfort but with regard to finding that shade in Christ Jesus. Praise God He provides the shade! Praise God He gives us the comfort, the relief, the care! 

PRAISE GOD FOR THE SHADE! 

Before we run off...

Now, before I run to play,
Let me not forget to pray!

I have been asked to speak at the weekly chapel service at the college where I teach. The topic I have been given is "Why I get up in the morning". I have been meditating and praying on this topic and God has given me a verse to focus on, but then tonight, He gave me this short, short portion of a child's prayer. 

I just love it! 

It is so simple. Easy to remember. Easy to memorize. Easy to implement! 

I think it has meaning not only for us to say prior to getting out of bed, but really at any time during our day. 

Before we run off to eat.

Before we run off to work.

Before we run off to chat with friends. 

Before we run off to  do what ever it might be we are doing at that moment in our day...

Lord, let us remember to FIRST pray!!!!!

 

Prayer...

So today I can not get the power of prayer out of my head. You see, we are staying at my parents' home this weekend. One of the first things my dad did when we arrived was ask my daughter about her warts. Faith showed him her hands and my dad said, "Praise God!" 

You see the last time we were here, my dad took Faith's hands and prayed for healing of the warts. These are warts that have plagued her for over a year. We have tried creams, duct tape, freezing, prayers at bedtime...you name it...but after my dad's prayer, those warts went away!  PRAISE GOD!


Then tonight we received an email from Sierra Leone. My great friend, Tina, is there. She said the following about our Lucy:


"She is doing great!!!!!!!!!!!! She has put on a lot of weight, we got her braces on today and she is walking with little assistance. She understands everything we say to her and she responds non-verbally. I have a ton of video for you. She is the HAPPIEST child at our center...never stops smiling and laughing! She is always laughing. Hilarious!!!"

You see, Lucy was a cast off. She was literally left to die several times...by her mother and then by two orphanages. I have to admit Doug and I were scared. We didn't know what her outcome would be. We were scared she would die and we were scared she would live but forever be unable to walk and talk. And yet, we knew we serve an AMAZING GOD! We know He honors his people's prayers. We know He honors His word to care for us! Our hands were tied, but our hearts were not...through PRAYER, with the help of all of you, we have PRAYED her to where she is today!

The book of James says, "The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective!"  AMEN TO THAT! AMEN TO THAT!