Silence

"But oh!  God is in his holy Temple!

Quiet everyone--a holy silence.

Listen!"

Taking some time for silence this weekend.  Choosing to be quiet so I can listen.

Praying that you too can find silence, that you can hear your Father whispering of His love for you.  He is not silent.

 "But I will reveal my name to my people,

and they will come to know its power.

Then at last they will recognize that 

I am the one who speaks to them."

Habakuk 2:20; Isaiah 52:6

Small Beginnings

It's so easy for us to see where we have room to grow...more love, more patience, more self-control, better parent/spouse/friend...  To desire growth is a good thing, however in my longing for more I easily overlook what He has already done--in myself and others.

We must not disregard the small beginnings.  God doesn't.

Do not despise these small beginnings,

for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin...

This verse was referring to the rebuilding of the Temple.  What is our desire but to see His Temple rebuilt in our lives through demonstrations of love, joy, peace--the fruit of His Spirit?   

And He has begun a good work.  These "small beginnings" are but the first fruits, the promise of what is yet to come.  God rejoices in these small beginnings!  He who started the good work in you will complete it.  

Giving thanks for the small beginnings I've recognized in this day.  Praying for eyes to see and a heart that more readily recognizes and celebrates the small beginnings...which hold great potential.

All this may seem impossible to you now...

But is it impossible for me?

says the Lord of Heaven's Armies...

For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you.

 Zechariah 4:10; 5:7&12

January Song

"Is any one of you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy?  He should sing songs of praise."*

In this week of turbulence I have prayed.  Oh, how I have prayed!  And He has heard my voice!  All I can do is sing songs of praise!

Giving thanks for:

A glimmer of hope that the kids are settling into routine...

A couple of kid-free hours thanks to my husband...

The genuine kindness of my co-workers...

A little chat with a good friend...

A daughter singing her own songs of praise as she loads the dishwasher...

He is real.  He lifts us up.  He steadies us.  He gives us a song to sing.  Even on bleak and turbulent January days.

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair...

He set my feet on solid ground

and steadied me as I walked along.

He has given me a new song to sing,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see what he has done and be amazed.

They will put their trust in the Lord.*

If you are feeling your own January troubles, pray.  He hears.  Wait patiently with your trust in Him.  He will fill you with a song!

James 5:13 NIV; Psalm 40:1-3 NLT

Experiencing Some Turbulence

"Please fasten your seatbelt as we are experiencing some turbulence."

This seemingly random thought popped into my head today.  On second thought, I began to think it wasn't random at all, but a message I needed to hear.

I've definitely been experiencing some turbulence.  Day two of school wasn't much easier than day one...hard to get everyone out of holiday relaxation mode and back to work.  Speaking of work--my paid job feels a little stressful and overwhelming with deadlines looming.

Yep, turbulence.  I should definitely be fastening my seatbelt and trusting the Pilot to get me through this time...

~

Seatbelt.  Belt.  Several hours later this thought kept floating to the surface.  (I'm a little slow some days!)  I paused and actually gave some thought to how on earth I was to "fasten my seatbelt."

"Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth..."  Ah!  Truth.  Stand my ground--not sink into weariness and lose ground--through truth.

"God will supply all your needs..."  ALL.  Body, soul, and spirit.

"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown... For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour..."

Truth.  Just these few thoughts were making me feel more secure.  Shalom--that peace in the midst of the storm--began to settle over me.

If you're going through any turbulence of your own, grab hold of some truth and trust the Pilot.  He will be with you, you will not drown, He is your Saviour...

Ephesians 6:14; Philippians 4:19; Isaiah 43:2-3;

Kryptonite

First day back to school after Christmas holidays and it was a bit of a rough start...

I had been in awe of the fact that I wasn't dreading it--I tend to dread January in general.  The little man, however, had been dreading it and had worked himself into a bit of a state.  The first hour was filled with, "I can't...too hard...hate school...stupid..."

I sent him outside for a while to find his good attitude.

Twenty minutes later he hadn't returned.  I found him in the doghouse.  Literally.  Unfortunately, he hadn't found his good attitude in there.

I feel his pain.  Sometimes we find ourselves in situations we just don't want to accept.  There's got to be some way out.  We dread and stew and make ourselves miserable, but there's no escape.

There is, however, a way through.

I explained to my son that when we can't find a way out, thanksgiving will help us find a way through. I encouraged him to find one thing about school for which he was thankful.  Told him that thanksgiving is like kryptonite to the enemies of discouragement and despair.  All the while I know that I'm speaking to myself too.

It took him a while to come up with something.  It was even harder to say it--as though giving thanks would be some sort of surrender.  And it is.  It involves acknowledging that we are not the master of our universe.  But, oh, what a glorious thing happens when we place our trust in the Gentle Shepherd!

When we give thanks we invite His presence into our difficult circumstances.

He could only find one thing he was thankful for, but it changed everything.  Hope entered the room.

"Thank God no matter what happens.

This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."

1Thessalonians 5:18 MSG

Writing in Pencil

I hate New Years' Resolutions.

It's not that I don't like goals...in fact, I'm quite goal-oriented by nature.  There's just something about New Years' resolutions that irk me.  They stress me out.  We joke about how predictably easy they are to break.  I get this feeling when I make them that somehow achieving them is a key to happiness. 

I was really, really good at setting goals and achieving them precisely on time and in the way I had planned...before I had children. 

Then I had kids.

They had absolutely no regard for the fact that I had a goal of exercising every day so I could lose ten pounds by the end of February.  Just when I was finally exercising they would need me.  It was so inconvenient.  I would grow resentful.

I would resolve to read a certain amount of scripture every day and then find myself shrieking at them for interrupting me.  Don't worry--the irony of that was not lost on me.

The problem wasn't and isn't in setting the goals...we must aim in a certain direction to get there!  The problem is when those goals are elevated above love.

"Most of all, 

love each other as if your life depended on it.

Love makes up for practically anything."

My kids are older now and don't have "potty accidents" anymore, but they still need me.  My days inevitably contain things unscheduled and beyond my control--such as the lesson given while I was in the middle of writing this on How to Remove Ketchup from the Carpet.  I often struggle with frustration at these moments.

So I'm only making one resolution:  I resolve to love as if my life depends on it.  A resolution I can't possibly keep on my own, but I have a Backer.

I'm counting on love making up for "practically anything."  That love will matter more and make all the difference in those places where my life doesn't look as neat and tidy as it would in my imaginary world where I control everything.

I'm still planning on exercising regularly and cutting out those late afternoon potato chips.  I want to work on a writing project and finally make curtains for the guest room.

I'm still making plans--I'm just writing them in pencil.

1 Peter 4:8 MSG

A New Thing

I love taking time for reflection on New Years' Eve. 

This year we spent some time with close friends.  We talked about milestones in the past year, unexpected joys, and about the ways we discovered God in the challenges.  These are close friends with whom we have the rare privilege of being safely transparent.  We know the details of the hurdles each of us has faced.  To know that and to be able to celebrate the goodness of God together was so encouraging!

There's a passage in Isaiah that recounts the faithfulness of God in the past and then God says:

 "But forget all that--

it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun!

Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland...

Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland

so my chosen people can be refreshed."

The best that God has done in the past year?  It's nothing compared to what He is going to do!

He's going to make rivers in the dry places in your life.  

So you can be refreshed.

Isaiah 43:18-20