If you are seeking God sincerely...if you are pursuing Him with everything you have...you WILL find Him. Midday yesterday I had an intimate encounter in God's Presence (I'll share more about that in another post), and I was flowing in His Spirit. It was one of those times when you know that you know that you know that God has spoken. His calling was very strong, and His direction was more clear than it has ever been. It was a good morning. I found myself slipping off by myself for a few minutes so that I could soak it in. I pressed up against the window and looked out at the clear day..the squirrels running up the trees, the birds eating out of our feeder, the crispness that marked that moment in time. My soul was unclouded and clear, and I whispered a prayer, "I just want to stay here basking in Your Presence for a bit longer. I want to impress this moment in my mind and heart and soul so that I don't forget it. I don't ever want to doubt that I indeed heard very clearly from You." So, I lingered a few moments in that certainty of His calling...those moments when all my seeking resulted in finding Him. This was honestly a thrill to my soul!
But the flesh is always with us, isn't it? By last night as we were at some friends' house watching the Baylor/Duke game (sad day for us Baylor fans, I must say! :))...I got to talking about a recent situation with my husband's employer. In my mind, it's an ufair situation that is not good for our family. I can definitely see God's Hand in it, but my flesh was upset with certain things that have happened. As I talked about it, my flesh was jumping to the top and not walking in peacemaking. But even before I got home last night, I felt correction in my spirit. Remember my post yesterday about "blessed are the peacemakers?" Well, by last night, I was forgetting to put it into practice. I apologized to my Father for not walking in that peacemaking business.
Today I read a quote that I've read a zillion times, and I yearned more than anything to LIVE this quote. To live this out, I have to crucify that flesh that so easily entangles me and instead walk in the Spirit. Lord, help me to be more like YOU!
I will close today's post with this quote from St. Francis of Assisi:
"Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace that, where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that, where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that, where there is error, I may bring truth; that, where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that, where there is despair, I may bring hope; that, where there are shadows, I may bring light; that, where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted, to understand that to be understood; to love than to be loved; for it is by forgetting self that one finds; it is forgiving that one is forgiven; it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life."
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Blessed are the Peacemakers
I've been struggling lately. The well of my soul is being churned. I've found myself lately being in constant pursuit of God. I want to know which way to point my feet, and the only One who holds the answer to that is God. So, I pursue Him day and night. I wake up early, and even that warm bed isn't tempting lately because I want more than anything to know Him, understand Him...and to know which road He's leading us down.
I've been studying the life of George Mueller by reading some of his own writings. It is affecting my mindset greatly and causing dramatic shifts in the plates beneath my feet. If you don't know who George Mueller is, then google his name. Someday I will post more about him, but one thing I wanted to point out now is that George could have missed out on God's plan for his life. In the beginning of his life, he was involved in many sins that could have dominated his life and stolen his purpose (I can relate to that one myself). But I'm not talking about that. I learned recently that while George was busy about the work God gave him in England, he was asked to go as a missionary to Baghdad. In the natural, this offer looked like an open door from God: They offered to pay all expenses to relocate him...the need was very great to serve in Baghdad...he had always been drawn to serving as a missionary in a place like Baghdad. Some of us (ME) would have jumped right away and said, "Look at this incredible open door!! I'm leaving tomorrow for Baghdad!" Right? I mean...all the signs seemed to be pointing in that direction...and even the expenses had been paid (and George Mueller was trusting God to provide for all his needs). But George didn't jump at it. He sat on it for awhile. For days he prayed and submitted it to God. He spent hours in prayer and Bible study to allow the Holy Spirit to guide his steps. In the end, he didn't go to Baghdad. He stayed in England, and as a result, thousands of orphans were helped physically and spiritually.
So, back to us... We can see several roads stretching out before us with life choices that are all very different. I think of George Mueller, and I realize that some of those options are simply distractions that would keep me from God's true plan. The ONLY way to know is to pursue Him...not just with a quick prayer on the way out the door...but in the kind of seeking children do when they are playing hide-and-seek. Seek and ye shall find. So, I find myself seeking with persistence. I think God enjoys watching us seek His Will, and I think He DELIGHTS to give us the answers.
For months now, I've been seeking Him intently. And that's where the depths of my soul are being churned. Because...ya see...as we seek Him with all diligence, we begin to find answers that we may have heard many times but never grasped. And sometimes those answers are SO HARD. Really, don't we always want the easier route???
Today was one of those mornings. Among the many things I'm studying is a book called Compelled by Love. I've read it four times now, but the concepts are so life-altering that I have to keep going back to sink deeper into it. It's based on the Sermon on the Mount. I know the Scripture and this book almost by heart because I've read them so many times. But today the reality hit me on a deeper level: I have to actually put this stuff into practice!
Compelled By Love is written by a woman who works among the orphans in Mozambique (and, like George Mueller), they rely on God for their every need. They have been persecuted numerous times by people in the country who do not understand their work. Once, when a $20 reward was placed on their heads, they chose to LOVE those persecuting them instead. Their land and buildings were taken from them, and their orphans were mocked and traumatized, and still they all (even those children) chose to love their persecutors and not react in revenge or hate. Love won out, and God provided ultimate protection and deliverance for them. Years later, they were given 7 times as much land and buildings, and the persecutors apologized. That is SO EASY to read, applaud and admire. But so very hard to step towards DOING.
This morning I had an internal struggle that had me restless in my seat. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. But inside me were some very good objections. What about the things I'm standing up against that I feel are really wrong...the people who are doing things that are not right in my eyes? What about the things that come so strongly against my faith...I'm not talking about the world...but Christians who live contrary to the faith that I cling to? What about the person in my own family who said hurtful things that I know are not right? What about when WE are stepping out in faith, knowing God has called, but others are putting up road blocks that we know are not right? What happens when we KNOW we're being wrongly accused or wrongly treated? What about when someone says or does something that hurts our children's feelings? Now, it's getting TOUGH (we could talk all day about that "Mama Bear" that rises in us when someone does something mean to our children!). But blessed are the peacemakers.
God was leading me to something that holds the key... Will I DO what He calls me to do? Or will I take matters into my own hands? One path is hard, the other convenient. One choice is natural, the other supernatural. One way is God's way, the other is my human nature's way. One path holds my life's purpose, while the other is a mere distraction to keep me from my purpose.
And I think of those paths in life...the crossroads. Sometimes I wish it were just one big step...so that I can take it once and be forever pointed the right direction. But it's a moment-by-moment walk. And I don't want to miss God's best. WHEREVER He calls, I want to go. WHATEVER He has planned, that's what I want. And this morning, He called me to come close and listen. He says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Oh how my humanity struggles with that! But that is the road He's calling me down. Why in the world would I seek so intently, only to go the opposite direction when He calls??
"When we choose the low road--the only road--we never lose. When we respond in the opposite spirit---fight war with love, fight hatred with forgiveness, and repay evil with good--we always win." (Heidi Baker, Compelled By Love).
I've been studying the life of George Mueller by reading some of his own writings. It is affecting my mindset greatly and causing dramatic shifts in the plates beneath my feet. If you don't know who George Mueller is, then google his name. Someday I will post more about him, but one thing I wanted to point out now is that George could have missed out on God's plan for his life. In the beginning of his life, he was involved in many sins that could have dominated his life and stolen his purpose (I can relate to that one myself). But I'm not talking about that. I learned recently that while George was busy about the work God gave him in England, he was asked to go as a missionary to Baghdad. In the natural, this offer looked like an open door from God: They offered to pay all expenses to relocate him...the need was very great to serve in Baghdad...he had always been drawn to serving as a missionary in a place like Baghdad. Some of us (ME) would have jumped right away and said, "Look at this incredible open door!! I'm leaving tomorrow for Baghdad!" Right? I mean...all the signs seemed to be pointing in that direction...and even the expenses had been paid (and George Mueller was trusting God to provide for all his needs). But George didn't jump at it. He sat on it for awhile. For days he prayed and submitted it to God. He spent hours in prayer and Bible study to allow the Holy Spirit to guide his steps. In the end, he didn't go to Baghdad. He stayed in England, and as a result, thousands of orphans were helped physically and spiritually.
So, back to us... We can see several roads stretching out before us with life choices that are all very different. I think of George Mueller, and I realize that some of those options are simply distractions that would keep me from God's true plan. The ONLY way to know is to pursue Him...not just with a quick prayer on the way out the door...but in the kind of seeking children do when they are playing hide-and-seek. Seek and ye shall find. So, I find myself seeking with persistence. I think God enjoys watching us seek His Will, and I think He DELIGHTS to give us the answers.
For months now, I've been seeking Him intently. And that's where the depths of my soul are being churned. Because...ya see...as we seek Him with all diligence, we begin to find answers that we may have heard many times but never grasped. And sometimes those answers are SO HARD. Really, don't we always want the easier route???
Today was one of those mornings. Among the many things I'm studying is a book called Compelled by Love. I've read it four times now, but the concepts are so life-altering that I have to keep going back to sink deeper into it. It's based on the Sermon on the Mount. I know the Scripture and this book almost by heart because I've read them so many times. But today the reality hit me on a deeper level: I have to actually put this stuff into practice!
Compelled By Love is written by a woman who works among the orphans in Mozambique (and, like George Mueller), they rely on God for their every need. They have been persecuted numerous times by people in the country who do not understand their work. Once, when a $20 reward was placed on their heads, they chose to LOVE those persecuting them instead. Their land and buildings were taken from them, and their orphans were mocked and traumatized, and still they all (even those children) chose to love their persecutors and not react in revenge or hate. Love won out, and God provided ultimate protection and deliverance for them. Years later, they were given 7 times as much land and buildings, and the persecutors apologized. That is SO EASY to read, applaud and admire. But so very hard to step towards DOING.
This morning I had an internal struggle that had me restless in my seat. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. But inside me were some very good objections. What about the things I'm standing up against that I feel are really wrong...the people who are doing things that are not right in my eyes? What about the things that come so strongly against my faith...I'm not talking about the world...but Christians who live contrary to the faith that I cling to? What about the person in my own family who said hurtful things that I know are not right? What about when WE are stepping out in faith, knowing God has called, but others are putting up road blocks that we know are not right? What happens when we KNOW we're being wrongly accused or wrongly treated? What about when someone says or does something that hurts our children's feelings? Now, it's getting TOUGH (we could talk all day about that "Mama Bear" that rises in us when someone does something mean to our children!). But blessed are the peacemakers.
God was leading me to something that holds the key... Will I DO what He calls me to do? Or will I take matters into my own hands? One path is hard, the other convenient. One choice is natural, the other supernatural. One way is God's way, the other is my human nature's way. One path holds my life's purpose, while the other is a mere distraction to keep me from my purpose.
And I think of those paths in life...the crossroads. Sometimes I wish it were just one big step...so that I can take it once and be forever pointed the right direction. But it's a moment-by-moment walk. And I don't want to miss God's best. WHEREVER He calls, I want to go. WHATEVER He has planned, that's what I want. And this morning, He called me to come close and listen. He says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Oh how my humanity struggles with that! But that is the road He's calling me down. Why in the world would I seek so intently, only to go the opposite direction when He calls??
"When we choose the low road--the only road--we never lose. When we respond in the opposite spirit---fight war with love, fight hatred with forgiveness, and repay evil with good--we always win." (Heidi Baker, Compelled By Love).
Friday, March 26, 2010
What It's Really All About
I've spent the past couple of years (and even deeper in the last few months) RE-learning how to think like Jesus (not like a church or like a good person...but like Jesus). I have more to say about that journey, but for now I will simply post this video. I just stumbled upon this song, and it so deeply echoes my heart and renewed mind that I felt my spirit tune in on every level...I could have SHOUTED because it meshed so exactly with what God has been teaching me. This is what it means to truly follow Jesus WHERE HE IS WALKING. Let it sit in your spirit and ask His Spirit to teach you...it may very well change your life.
(The video box is cut off...someone help me with HOW to change this! The first few scenes have words that are cut off, but you can get the gist...and you can hear the song fine. If you want to view it in full screen, CLICK on this link).
(The video box is cut off...someone help me with HOW to change this! The first few scenes have words that are cut off, but you can get the gist...and you can hear the song fine. If you want to view it in full screen, CLICK on this link).
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Mac Powell Testimony
While visiting my friend E's blog, I saw that she had posted this wonderful video. I knew she wouldn't mind if I also posted it. It's only ten minutes long and very worth watching. God's call on my life is to pour out my life for orphans and to share their story. This information is part of their story. If you don't have the time to watch all ten minutes, please watch the last couple of minutes to hear the statistics. It may very well surprise you...and humble, encourage and speak to you. Please pray about what your role is. You may not adopt, but you CAN help in some way (see our website at www.letsrebuildthewall.org for details on HOW to help). And please pass this on to your circle of influence.
Favorites
One of my sweet friends and fellow workers in the fields of the fatherless recently posed a request on her blog. She reminded us to be appreciative for the little things in life, and she asked that we post our 10 favorite things. I actually thought on this for a day. Many little blessings came to mind, but here is a list of the ones that float to the top:
1) A cup of hot tea (preferably decaf English Breakfast or English Teatime...we cannot buy these in our small town, so my husband sometimes surprises me with picking some up on the way home from work). Oh, and tea must have milk and sugar like they taught me to make it in England.
2) Scottish bagpipes and Celtic music
3) The smell of bookstores
4) The quiet hours of the morning before the sun comes up...the way the morning smells...the sound of the birds waking up for the day...the warm place I cuddle up for my time alone with my God
5) Being on the front porch in the spring and fall when the weather is perfect here in the mountains
6) Snuggling with my children to read good books (we try to do this every afternoon during the little one's nap time)
7) Seeing my children grasp onto their own faith in God...the times they have read amazing accounts of God using someone for His Kingdom, and they say things like, "I want God to use me that way too!"
8) The word "MAMA," especially when it's attached to the rest of a sentence that makes my heart warm (like, "Mama, I love you so much...you're the best Mama in the whole world!").
9) Watching my husband lost in worship with his guitar in his hands...not for performance but rather lost in the Holy Spirit...and my very best memory of him with his guitar was when we were in the orphanage, and he was ministering to those precious children (who had never seen a guitar!)
10) My worn Bible, with notes all through it...and all the pages that have been torn by little hands and then taped back up...the way I know exactly where to find anything in that Bible because I remember having underlined such-and-such in purple ink or having written something on the right side of this or that page
11) (Hey...I just thought of one more that is by far near the very top of my list!!) The absolute exhilaration of stepping onto the thin air of following God fully...the free-falling feeling that I absolute hate in the natural (don't make me go on those rides where you drop a million miles!!)...but in the spiritual, I'm sweetly addicted to free-falling! (Really)
1) A cup of hot tea (preferably decaf English Breakfast or English Teatime...we cannot buy these in our small town, so my husband sometimes surprises me with picking some up on the way home from work). Oh, and tea must have milk and sugar like they taught me to make it in England.
2) Scottish bagpipes and Celtic music
3) The smell of bookstores
4) The quiet hours of the morning before the sun comes up...the way the morning smells...the sound of the birds waking up for the day...the warm place I cuddle up for my time alone with my God
5) Being on the front porch in the spring and fall when the weather is perfect here in the mountains
6) Snuggling with my children to read good books (we try to do this every afternoon during the little one's nap time)
7) Seeing my children grasp onto their own faith in God...the times they have read amazing accounts of God using someone for His Kingdom, and they say things like, "I want God to use me that way too!"
8) The word "MAMA," especially when it's attached to the rest of a sentence that makes my heart warm (like, "Mama, I love you so much...you're the best Mama in the whole world!").
9) Watching my husband lost in worship with his guitar in his hands...not for performance but rather lost in the Holy Spirit...and my very best memory of him with his guitar was when we were in the orphanage, and he was ministering to those precious children (who had never seen a guitar!)
10) My worn Bible, with notes all through it...and all the pages that have been torn by little hands and then taped back up...the way I know exactly where to find anything in that Bible because I remember having underlined such-and-such in purple ink or having written something on the right side of this or that page
11) (Hey...I just thought of one more that is by far near the very top of my list!!) The absolute exhilaration of stepping onto the thin air of following God fully...the free-falling feeling that I absolute hate in the natural (don't make me go on those rides where you drop a million miles!!)...but in the spiritual, I'm sweetly addicted to free-falling! (Really)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
They are Taking a Faith Step
Several months ago, I "met" a precious Christian woman who learned of our adoption and then contacted me via email. We share similar hearts for orphans, and I've been blessed to get to know her. She and her husband wanted to host an orphan from another country. If you're unfamiliar with this, it's a program where orphans from other countries come to live for a month with an American family. The ultimate goal is to introduce them to Jesus and to find them a forever home if God opens the door. My friend and her husband didn't have the money to do this program, so they waited. The next time the opportunity came up, they didn't have the money again. But soon they learned one of the mind-boggling ironies of stepping into God's heart of caring for orphans. STEP FIRST, and then He will provide the means to do it. She tells this story in her new blog. I encourage you to read it and to become a follower of her blog so that you can have a front row seat as God opens doors to care for His child.
I have heard people say many many times: "Well, we would adopt IF we had the money. Adoption is just so expensive!" Or "We'd host a child if we had to money to do it. Those programs aren't cheap!" I always love to share the story that when we committed to adopt our daughter, we had ZERO money saved for her adoption...not a single penny! And if we had waited until we had enough money to adopt her, I'm almost certain that we would have NEVER had enough money to adopt her. I know this sounds crazy and counter to common sense, but one thing I've learned is that God does not fit into the boxes that our common sense neatly sets up. I believe that God is glorified when we step forward into His calling WITHOUT the means to do it. Hang with me here a minute...
When God calls, it's our job to say YES. It is NOT our job to make sure we have the means to do what He's called us to do. When we wait until we have the means, often it won't happen. WHY? Because when we absolutely cannot do something in our human state, we are brought to the point of HAVING to rely on God to do it. He steps in and performs this amazing miracle of providing all we need...and then HE gets the glory because HE did it! This sounds crazy. I always call it crazy faith. God is pleased with our FAITH...not our human way of coming up with the means to do what He's called us to do. He calls, and we say YES...even if (especially if!!!) it seems impossible to do in our human skin. This is where we see the line between doing things in our flesh and doing them in His Spirit.
Anyway, I was thrilled when our friends stepped out without the money to host this precious child. They stepped FIRST...and then God supplied amazingly (and quickly too!). Please follow their story because it is a walk of faith...so I can assure you that God is going to do some amazing things!
This is what it's about...stepping out to work on your small portion of the wall of orphan ministry. Really...there is something ALL of us can do. Just STEP and trust your Heavenly Father to be faithful to provide all you need.
I have heard people say many many times: "Well, we would adopt IF we had the money. Adoption is just so expensive!" Or "We'd host a child if we had to money to do it. Those programs aren't cheap!" I always love to share the story that when we committed to adopt our daughter, we had ZERO money saved for her adoption...not a single penny! And if we had waited until we had enough money to adopt her, I'm almost certain that we would have NEVER had enough money to adopt her. I know this sounds crazy and counter to common sense, but one thing I've learned is that God does not fit into the boxes that our common sense neatly sets up. I believe that God is glorified when we step forward into His calling WITHOUT the means to do it. Hang with me here a minute...
When God calls, it's our job to say YES. It is NOT our job to make sure we have the means to do what He's called us to do. When we wait until we have the means, often it won't happen. WHY? Because when we absolutely cannot do something in our human state, we are brought to the point of HAVING to rely on God to do it. He steps in and performs this amazing miracle of providing all we need...and then HE gets the glory because HE did it! This sounds crazy. I always call it crazy faith. God is pleased with our FAITH...not our human way of coming up with the means to do what He's called us to do. He calls, and we say YES...even if (especially if!!!) it seems impossible to do in our human skin. This is where we see the line between doing things in our flesh and doing them in His Spirit.
Anyway, I was thrilled when our friends stepped out without the money to host this precious child. They stepped FIRST...and then God supplied amazingly (and quickly too!). Please follow their story because it is a walk of faith...so I can assure you that God is going to do some amazing things!
This is what it's about...stepping out to work on your small portion of the wall of orphan ministry. Really...there is something ALL of us can do. Just STEP and trust your Heavenly Father to be faithful to provide all you need.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
What if we lived this out every day...
This was written by John Henry Newman and was one of Mother Teresa's favorite prayers (said EVERY DAY by the Missionaries of Charity):
Dear Lord:
Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go.
Flood my soul with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only you, O Lord!
Stay with me, then I shall begin to shine as you do; so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Lord, will be all from you; none of it will be mine; it will be you shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise you in the way you love best, by shining on those around me.
Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you.
Amen.
(quoting from the book Compelled by Love by Heidi Baker)
Dear Lord:
Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go.
Flood my soul with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only you, O Lord!
Stay with me, then I shall begin to shine as you do; so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Lord, will be all from you; none of it will be mine; it will be you shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise you in the way you love best, by shining on those around me.
Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you.
Amen.
(quoting from the book Compelled by Love by Heidi Baker)
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