Archive for the ‘Faith’ Category

Run and Don’t Look Back!

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 New International Version

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24 New International Version

I’ve been struggling lately because of this label of “hypocrite” that is so quickly slapped on Christians. A person can start to feel that no matter what they say or do, they fall short. They aren’t good enough. They let others down. They disappoint. They are a shallow representation of Christ.

Oh wait. That’s exactly what we are.

Because for even the most sincere and devout Christian, there will never be perfection this side of heaven. It just isn’t possible for us. Our God and Savior knows this, he lavishes his grace on us, day after day and minute after minute. And while he spurs us on toward growth and maturity, it’s a slow, often painful, process.

The hope in all of this is that, because of our faith in Jesus Christ, our life is wrapped in his and we are seen as spotless to our creator. Unfortunately, those around us don’t view us that way. We don’t view others that way. And that can wear us down.

But while the Bible warns against becoming prideful and haughty, it also warns against becoming lazy and apathetic. We have to walk a tightrope between the two, careful not to fall into either one pit or the other. Make no mistake: it’s better to try and fail than to never try at all. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you are better off in the pit of laziness than the pit of holier-than-thou. They’re both pits.

As for running… While it’s not the Bible, there’s this awesome running quote that always lifts my spirits when I see it.

No matter how slowly you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch.

SO true.

The devil knows that the best way to keep something from happening is to stop it before it begins. So he instills fear into people so that they never even get off the couch. But here’s the thing; you can’t run if you are on the couch. You can’t win a race if you are on the couch. You forever limit yourself to a bystander (sitter?) and (often) commentator only.

And so, without any smugness or self-righteousness, I can say, “Think what you want about who I am or how I am. I have many imperfections, it’s true. But because I’ve committed my life to Jesus, he’s laid out my path and secured my victory for me. All I need to do is run. And it doesn’t matter if you like my running. I’m not running to you. I’m running with and to Him.”

And so, as I strive to meet with Jesus every day and learn, more and more, to listen to his voice and obey his commands, this lovely sense of peace, joy, and freedom unfolds inside of me. Because I realize that when I stay close to him, he works in and through me. He does all of the hard work. I’m learning to follow him and reflect him, but my burdens of projecting the perfect Christian woman/wife/mother/daughter/sister/friend/fill-in-the-blank-here illusion isn’t my number one priority anymore. Being perfect isn’t possible, but if I stick close to my Savior, his power will be made perfect in my weakness. His glory will shine through all of the holes of my personality flaws. His Holy Spirit will carry me further than my weak human legs ever could on their own.

And he’ll do the same for you.

So I encourage you: get off the couch! Run! If you’ve been longing to step into a relationship with Christ, or into a deeper relationship with Christ, if you’ve been wanting to let go of past hurts or past failures, if you’ve been desiring a personal change like losing weight, or paying down debt, or eating healthier, or keeping a cleaner house, or, or, or

…forget about the finger pointers and naysayers and commentators and just run. One foot in front of the other. Step by step. He will be with you every step of the way.

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Posted in Faith |

2011 Review

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

This is a tradition carried over from my last blog:

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? Used a pressure canner

2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I always resolve to try and eat healthier and exercise more. And I do a little bit better every year. (That’s what I posted last year and it applies to this year as well!).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friend, Genevieve, gave birth to her third child, Molly. One of my cousins had a baby…but we didn’t know she was coming until two weeks before the baby was born!

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, Ben’s dad passed away in August.

5. What countries did you visit? None!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A rigorous focus on my family. I want to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, etc. I’m hoping to spend more time with family and host more family get-togethers.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 29th; it’s not only Luke and Brad’s birthdays, but we also closed on our current home on that date. August 9th; the day Ben’s dad passed away.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting in the habit of spending time with God in the mornings.

9. What was your biggest failure? I didn’t lose those last 10 pounds!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? None, thanks be to God!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our new home. Not only because we like the house and land, but because we felt led by God throughout the entire process. Our new blender is pretty cool, too.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ben. This has been a tough year with many surprises and uncertainties and he’s weathered it all like a champ and has stayed strong for us. He also attended a 9-day wilderness medical training in February and passed the exams with a high score.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Does the U.S. government count?

14. Where did most of your money go? We had to cut a $17k check to the bank just to simply get out of our last home. That was painful, but we saved that money at God’s prompting and felt like we were following him, so it wasn’t as difficult as we thought it would be.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 1. We’re excited about the path God has been leading us in regards to downsizing and paying off debt. 2. Although I HATED the idea of leaving our church back in Imperial, we have found another church that we are really excited about.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? None but Jesus by Hillsong

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same, I’d say. There have been ups for all the downs, I think.
ii. thinner or fatter? Mayyybe a pound or two lighter.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Even having spent so much on getting out of our house, this mortgage is so much less AND we’ve learned a lot about how to live on less.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Spending time with God, blogging, and taking pictures.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Facebook. Seriously limiting my online time this year. Same for television.

20. How will you be spending the Winter? Exercising, reading up on gardening, bees, and chickens, reading to the boys.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011? I continue to fall in love with Ben and the boys.

23. What was your favorite month of 2011? July. It was crazy, but we really saw God come through for us.

24. What was your favorite TV program? The Office is still our favorite. Jericho was awesome, as was Survivors (BBC).

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nope. Not a hater, such a waste of time.

26. What was the best book you read? The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven was really good. It really encouraged me to look past the physical and pray for/against the spiritual.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? None but Jesus by Hillsong, Charlotte Church Christmas songs.

28. What did you want and get? A little house on some acreage, a Blendtec.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? HP7.2

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Went out to dinner. I turned 31.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Losing weight.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Just getting by, but tired of that look.

33. What kept you sane? Prayer.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? None, unless you count Ron Paul. But he’s not a celebrity – he’s the real deal.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The election is on the horizon. We are behind Ron Paul all the way.

36. Who did you miss? Chelsea moved when we bought our new house and I miss her.

37. Who was the best new person you met? I’m excited about our new neighbors!

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011: Even when we follow God, our paths aren’t necessarily direct from point A to point B. Sometimes it appears we are drifting or rambling. If we simply wait on God, he’ll get us to where we need to be, in his time. We may not be moving fast enough for our likes, but we should serve him no matter what, no matter where we are, and he’ll use us.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: “There is no one else for me,
None but Jesus,
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise.”

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Posted in Faith, Family, Just Sayin' |

You Are Loved

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

I wrote this in Luke’s journal today and felt compelled to share it. Maybe someone else needs to hear this simple message.

Sweet Luke,

I love you, Bubby. I just wanted to let you know that today. I think Satan gains ground when he’s able to convince us that we are not valued and loved. Fight this with everything you have – call on God to protect and defend your heart. Read the TRUTH to remind you.

You are loved by imperfect parents, grandparents, and many others. Our love – or lack of it – should never distract you from a greater truth…

…you are loved by an almighty, everlasting God.

He shaped mountains, put the stars in their place, and numbered every grain of sand…

…and he loves you.

Not with a weak, imperfect, human love, but with a fierce, never-ending, deeply sacrificial love which no water can quench.

God is with you always. He’s never distracted, never too busy, never bored, never tired.

He longs for you to know him and share in his plan. The God of the universe wants to give you a place and an inheritance in his kingdom.

Never doubt his love.

– Mom

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Posted in Faith, Family |

May It Be

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

I don’t know about you, but I have plans for my life. I’ve been dreaming dreams and making plans for myself ever since I was a kid. Plans about where I want to go, plans about things I want to do, and plans about who I want to be. Sometimes, many times, my plans don’t work out. God has different ideas. I don’t always take that well.

As I was reading the Christmas Story, I couldn’t help but think that Mary, the mother of Jesus, probably had some plans herself. She was engaged, after all, and was most certainly thinking about and planning her wedding and the items she would need to take into her new household. Whether she and Joseph loved each other, we don’t know, but I can’t help think that she was looking into the future, thinking about her roles as a wife, mistress of her home, and – some day -a mother.

Talk about a change of plans, then, when an angel appears to her:

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Yup, that’s the sound of plans changing.

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

Ha. No kidding!

The angel proceeds to tell her that she was to give birth to the Messiah and that her Aunt Elizabeth, who was barren and up in years, was also pregnant. Wow.

Mary and Joseph lived in today’s equivalent of a small town. She must have known how people would talk, what they would say about her. She must have wondered what Joseph would think about all this; after all, they weren’t just engaged, they were betrothed. That meant that she was legally his wife – they just hadn’t had the wedding ceremony yet. She must have known she would live the rest of her life amidst knowing looks and wagging tongues. Did she panic? Did she freak out? No, according to the Bible, her response was,

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t ask for time to think it over. She didn’t talk back about how inconvenient this was for her. She simply accepted.

How can this be? How can someone have all of their plans stripped away and replaced by a badge of shame and STILL glorify God? How does she, after one conversation, push all of her dreams aside with such a calm and noble attitude?

We are given a clue in verses 46 through 56, in the 1st chapter of Luke:

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm:
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.

Sounds to me like Mary was a woman of faith. Mary may have been from a small town, but she was no dummy. She knew the promises of God. And she was smart enough to know to overlook her personal afflictions and hassles and focus instead on the fulfillment of those promises. She knew she was a part of something greater. She saw her role for what it was: an honor and a blessing.

I have a feeling the plan-changing didn’t stop here for Mary. After all, Jesus was the Messiah, but he wasn’t the Messiah the people thought he would be. He didn’t come in earthly riches and power. He lived 30 years in the same little town his parents were raised, probably working as a carpenter in his father’s shop. Mary didn’t get to live a life of queenly splendor. She became the wife of a poor carpenter and the mother of several children. There was no glory or honor. No bestsellers or speaking tours. No entourage or celebrity status. She probably spent her days wiping noses and keeping house.

Many historians believe she was widowed some time before Jesus started his ministry. I’m guessing that wasn’t something she had dreamed for herself.

She often accompanied Jesus on his travels. Travel was hard in those days. I doubt it was how she thought she’d spend her later years. That’s hardly the retirement most of us long for.

She was at the foot of the cross when her eldest son was crucified. That probably wasn’t in her plan book either. Did it feel like a defeat? Was there a part of her that questioned God? No matter how great her faith, I cannot help but think about how heartbroken and grieved she must have been. Even after he had ascended into heaven, it must have been hard on her. Sure, her son wasn’t dead, but she wouldn’t see him for the rest of her life on earth, either.

Mary isn’t revered simply because she was a human vessel for the Messiah, but because of her willingness to serve God – no matter what that looked like and no matter what the cost. For all of the trials and hardships, there was immeasurable blessings as well; the blessing of being an integral part of the work of the creator of the universe. The honor of a holy, eternal God choosing a lowly here-today-gone-tomorrow human to partner with him in his plan for all of mankind. I’m so glad she had the wisdom to see that.

The same deal is offered us today. Maybe not to raise the Son of God, but to raise sons and daughters of God. We, too, are invited to partner with God to usher in his kingdom. We don’t have to be perfect, or wealthy, or highly educated. We just have to be willing.

“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

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Posted in Faith, Uncategorized |