Giving Birth (Awaiting the Promise)

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

 John 16:21,22

 

It’s been 12+ years since those days of pregnancy and having a baby in the house. Precious memories!

We recently started transferring video tapes to digital format. Last week, we were doing the births of our two younger sons and I heard some awful noises coming from the computer and asked, “what was that?” My husband answered, “that was you.” Evidently I made a bit of noise in those last stages of delivery.

Oh my! I had forgotten about that part of it. (good thing) As soon as that baby was born my mind was focused on this new precious life, and the pain was quickly forgotten. All those months of waiting for the arrival were over and I could hold the promise in my arms.

Several years ago I had dreams about being pregnant and giving birth. (God often speaks to me through my dreams, but almost always it is symbolic.) I was in a time of preparation and knew that God was birthing something new in me. The waiting was difficult. I decided to worship through the waiting and to seek God for His peace in the midst of great unrest. Not easy. But He met me in those places and got me through.

 It was not clear to me what we were going to give birth to. I knew it was a ministry, but I had my ideas of it and God had his and these weren’t lining up.  I continued to pray for His will and not my own as best I could. He led me one step at a time and eventually got me to the place of opening Foundations Christian Counseling and Consulting.

But, just like those final moments are the most painful before the baby actually comes, so it was with birthing this ministry. It was painful, but now I am holding the promise in my arms.

Maybe you are in a season of preparation. Maybe God has spoken a promise and you are waiting for it to come. Choose to worship and seek God. He will give you the endurance you need to see it through. It will be worth the wait and soon you will be holding the promise in your arms.

Until next time...

And the greatest of these is love

 

 

A Lesson From The Movies: Grace & The Law

A man of THE LAW

A man of GRACE

Two men

Two different world views

In the movie musical Les Miserables, one man lived by the law. He believed he was absolutely right and justified in his actions. He believed in God.  He lived by a code and never wavered from his resolute belief. 

The other man also believed in God. He had an experience of grace that changed him. From that moment on he treated his fellow man with the grace he himself had experienced. 

Fast forward to yesterday. 

I was searching the internet to find information on a tender topic. I settled on two different articles dealing with the topic. The authors used some of the same passages of scripture to defend their positions yet came up with vastly different conclusions. One article was saturated with grace the other article was dripping with the law.

My spirit felt sadness for the author of the article who didn't seem to understand grace. I could tell he was a very scholarly man. But it was clear he lacked in compassion and mercy. Reading these two articles was like seeing the contrast in Les Miserables played out.

This morning I awoke pondering this. Pondering this amazing thing we call GRACE:  How we are fundamentally changed when we accept it. How we are freed from the chains of THE LAW when we live by the grace of Jesus Christ. How it changes our hard hearts to soft hearts toward ourselves and others. 

A new verse to Amazing Grace, a long favorite of mine came to my mind:

Amazing grace has changed my heart

And set this prisoner free

This grace, it shows me how to love

As Jesus first loved me

Til next time,

…and the greatest of these is love

Shock and Awe

The smooth, worn wooden pews had grown wise as they silently took in the Words preached every Sunday in the old stuccoed church. They proudly lined up in a semi-circle cut through by two aisles leading to the front of the sanctuary. A large ornate pulpit adorned the platform.
The pews watched the important man walk to one of the three chairs on the platform and take a seat. Never in the middle, always the one on the right or the left. 
When the pipe organ brought its prelude to a close the important man rose and walked to the pulpit. He stood there gazing over the pews, creating space, creating expectancy, and declared,
"THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE, LET ALL THE EARTH KEEP SILENT BEFORE HIM!"
And all was silent. Heads bowed. Eyes closed. The pews dared not to creak while the Holiness of God was contemplated by all. 

Yesterday, I was challenged to begin my time with the Lord with silence. Contemplating His majesty, glory, holiness...His complete otherness and bigness and "un-understandableness" (yes I just made that word up). It brought back the above memory. Hidden in the recesses of my mind the words came forth unbidden, "The LORD is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him."  I was a small child again, sitting in those wooden pews, taken in with the mystery of God.

When I was a child I thought the holy temple was the church building I was in. I now know His holy temple is me. It brings even more meaning to the statement. The Lord is in me, so be silent before Him.  Brings me to be still and know He is God.

How great are you, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 2 Samuel 7:22

Grandpa's Prayer

I was recently challenged to pray the Lord’s Prayer on a regular basis as part of a sacred rhythm to life. It immediately brought a precious memory to my mind.

As an 8 year old I sat at the large dining table with my family and grandparents. It was Sunday dinner and it was always SO good! Everyone had settled into their seats and I got to sit next to grandma – a special treat. But before we could dig into the mashed potatoes, gravy and roast beef, grandpa would pray. It was always the same. We would bow our heads and grandpa would begin the Lord’s Prayer. I can still hear him slowly reciting the words:

“Our Father…..who art in heaven….hallowed be Thy Name ….(pause)……

Thy Kingdom come….Thy will be done…..on earth as it is in heaven…..(pause)

Give us this day….our daily…bread….(long pause)…

And forgive us our debts…..as we….forgive our debtors….….(longer pause, and I peek to see if he’s OK)

And lead us not into temptation….(I’m peeking again)….

And deliver us from evil…(now I’m looking at the yummy food and wondering if he’s ever going to finish)

For Thine is the Kingdom….and the power….and the glory forever….amen.” (whew! He made it, we can eat!)

What a wonderful memory! Yes, the food and fellowship were good, but it’s the prayer that made the biggest impression on me. My grandpa always seemed very old and wise to me.  I was too young to understand the legacy he was leaving; too immature to understand the significance of this prayer.

Jesus gave this prayer to his followers as a model for how they should pray (Mat 6 and Luke 11). Not that it’s the only words to pray, but obviously, if Jesus himself provided this prayer as a model it’s a pretty important prayer. Especially when prayed sincerely, like grandpa did.

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:9

til next time...

the greatest of these is love

Keeping It Real

My nose will never be the same. I will have a nose that looks like it came off one of the Seven Dwarfs. "Oh, my! What happened to your nose?!"
These and other unpleasant thoughts did NOT go through my mind last week. (believe it or not)
I think I had more fear going in than once I actually got "under the knife".
OK, if I've lost you, I'll back up and fill you in.
In March I visited my dermatologist. She noticed a few spots on my skin that needed to be tested. One of those spots came from my nose - left side on nostril. It came back as a basal cell carcinoma.
That meant a trip to DesMoines for a MOHS procedure where they test each layer they take until they get all the cancer.
I have been through this before in 2008 front neck just below the collar bone. It went well - one cut - one testing cycle - results came back with clear margins and I was stitched up. Simple.
This time didn't go that way.
By the time all the cancer was excavated I had a third nostril on the left side.
Three times they came back for more tissue, 4 times total. My husband was watching me closely. He was waiting for me to crack.
But I didn't.
I did have to hold back some tears after the initial results came back and I knew we weren't going to get the "one and done" like last time, but other than that, I held it together (well maybe it wasn't so much me as it was Jesus in me).
I had to see a plastic surgeon for repair.
We were impressed with the before and after pictures scrolling on digital frames in the waiting and exam rooms.
I hadn't seen the hole yet and Bruce snapped a picture with his phone and showed it to me. Mistake.
Now I couldn't hold back the tears.
The surgeon saw me trying to pull myself together and maybe this helped him be more compassionate, who knows.
After getting the low down, we were scheduled for surgery the following morning.
I came home with stitches in the shape of an N - but the boys thought it looked more like a 4 and dubbed me "NUMBER 4". So now I am number 4. Clever boys. (a reference to a recent movie)

You may be wondering what all this has to do with my walk with God. Everything.
My whole life is part of my walk with God.
The big stuff, the little stuff, the annoying stuff, the joys, the trials, all of it. He has something in it for me to learn.
I'm left wondering about things like the temporariness of my physical body. I'm reassured by knowing the real me is my eternal soul and that my body is just it's earthly house. I'm reminded that I'll get a new body someday.
I am reminded about thankfulness for this body I've been given. For the gift it is.
I am thankful for gifted physicians who have great skill, but also have compassion.

I know there are temptations that Satan would love for me to take up.
To become fearful. To become fatalistic in thinking about my skin and the future.
Yes, I spent way too many hours in the sun as a young person.
But I refuse to go there.
Jesus is my restorer, my healer. I pray for His touch to my skin. He healed lepers, He can heal me.
I will not live in fear.
Even if there is a recurrence in the future He will be with me and I'll learn something from it.

until next time -
and the greatest of these is love!

Trauma and Amazing Love

I’ve been taking an online class on trauma and response.  It is taught from a Christian perspective which I very much appreciate.

As a follow-up to a recent discussion question, we were asked to “discuss any scriptures that show how God created people to live within a relationship context? How does this tie into the strategic support and accountability of trauma recovery?”

This was my answer:

My first thoughts were triggered by your use of the word 'created'. When God created Eve from Adam's rib and brought her to him, He created a relationship.

We are created in the image of God and He is relational in His very being. Father, Son and Holy Spirit known as the trinity are completely one and complete in relationship.

Jesus said to those around him "who are my mother and brothers? My mother and brothers (my family) are those who do the will of my Father.” He is stressing the importance of relationship and expanding our ideas of where we can find support. Then as Jesus died on the cross he connects his mother to his dear friend John, again stressing the important role of relationship. 

Jesus knew his death was a traumatic experience for those who loved him. He knew both of those precious people needed extra support, so he intentionally added an accountability dimension (mother to son and son to mother) to the relationship so there would be extra support. I so love this gesture! Even in his excruciatingly painful moments, Jesus was caring for people. What AMAZING Love!

This was a brand new thought for me! It came to me as I wrote it (thank you Holy Spirit).  As I sat there and thought about what I had just written I was overwhelmed and tears filled my eyes. Oh, to know this God-man, Jesus more!

Jesus has so much to teach us! No matter what the subject is, He has taught us “a more excellent way.” May Holy Week overwhelm you with thoughts of His amazing love. 

Until next time…

and the greatest of these is love.

Obedience is Not a Dirty Word

We resist obedience almost from the womb. Little children disobey to assert their will and see what will happen. Teenagers disobey to assert their growing independence. Even adults are prone to dissent until they can obey with their pride intact, "I'm only doing it because I want to."

Two weeks ago one of my Lent scripture readings was the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. (Genesis 22) The ultimate test of obedience: let something go we treasure and love with a passion. As I reflected on the passage I wrote some observations in my journal about how Abraham handled this situation.

1. Upon hearing this instruction from God Abraham immediately acts. He got up early the next morning and set out. He didn't spend a lot of time pondering the instructions, instead he obeyed immediately.
My take away: how often to I hesitate? How does my hesitation move me toward disobedience?

2. Abraham didn't tell anyone. He heard from the Lord and it was between him and the Lord. Abraham loved Isaac and would not have wanted to do this. Abraham didn't talk to others as they would likely have tried to talk him out of it - especially if he had told his wife Sarah.
My take away: When I know the Lord has spoken to me on something, do I allow others to talk me out of it?

3. Abraham has past experiences with the Lord that have shown him the character of the Lord. Abraham knows knows the Lord will not break the covenant He has made with Abraham, even though Abraham has failed in the past. Abraham trusts the Lord.
My take away: Do I look at the ways the Lord has taken care of me in the past despite my failures? Do I really trust Him?

4. When Isaac turns to (vs7) Abraham and asks where the sheep for the burnt offering was, Abraham likely looks his son in the eye and states, "God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering my son." And they both walked on together. Isaac accepts his father's answer. Abraham was resolute and his posture in faith and obedience influences his son to also take an accepting posture.
My take away: when I am resolute in obedience others will be influenced.

5.  When Isaac turns to (vs7) Abraham and asks where the sheep for the burnt offering was, Abraham likely looks his son in the eye and states, "God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering my son." And they both walked on together. Why does Abraham answer the question this way? It is interesting to me that Abraham doesn't use this opening to blurt out any inner turmoil. He doesn't say "God has asked me to do the unthinkable!" or "God is testing me!" or even "God asked me to sacrifice you Isaac!" In spite of any doubts or questions Abraham may have had, he didn't give them expression. He stays resolute in his obedience and doesn't melt in emotion.
My take away: How often, when I'm asked to do something I deem difficult do I stay resolute? Unfortunately not often. Too often I melt in emotions and the seeming unfairness of it all.

6. The Lord intervened. "Abraham! Don't lay a hand on the boy!" God took care of Abraham and Isaac because Abraham proved by his actions that he loved the Lord his God so much he wasn't willing to withhold anything from Him. Because Abraham had been obedient, "through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed." (vs 18) God hugely blesses Abraham's obedience way beyond a "normal" blessing and He rewards him in a BIG way. Abraham is recorded as a hero of faith in the book of Hebrews.
My take away: The Lord's heart is FOR me. He has given EVERYTHING - for He didn't spare HIS own son - Jesus. When He asks me to obey Him He knows the ending, He knows the blessing in store.

until next time...

and the greatest of these is love