I have to be honest with you...I am lazy. I know this may surprise some of you - maybe not my mother and close friends, but yes..it is true. I enjoy laying on the couch with my coffee and blanket. My wonderful husband bought me a small notebook laptop so that I can begin to blog....he knew I would not blog if I had to sit in a chair at a desk! Here I am...with my coffee, blanket and notebook. It is a wonderful feeling. The Bible does not encourage laziness, so I can not blog to encourage others to lay around and do nothing...so, what am I doing??
I love sitting at the beach, reading a book...doing nothing. I have a close friend who I talked into sitting at the beach with me and she enjoyed it so much that she began to meet me at the beach quite often throughout our 6 week summer here in Michigan. We had a great time chatting and soaking up the sun. One day, she looked at me and said, "Heidi, thank you for teaching me how to sit around and do nothing without feeling guilty about it". Ummm...your welcome? I was not sure how to take this statement at first...is my calling in life to create lazy people?? I don't think God would want me to begin a crusade for sitting around...although, I think that crusade would probably be quite popular! I laughed at my friend as she was turning red from the few hours we had been sitting in the sun. I looked at our feet splashing in the water - we had moved our chairs up so we would not have to actually stand up and walk over to the water to cool off...we could just set our chairs in the sand while our feet were in the water! ( I think this is another very important thing I taught my friend that day...no standing required!)
My friend was not laughing, which was a little strange. She had just finished telling me that I taught her how to sit around and not feel guilty, but she had a very serious look on her face...and...was that tears in her eyes or just a reflection of the waves? She continued by talking about the verse in the Bible, "Be still and know that I am God..." she told me that she had a problem with "being still". She talked about how she needs to learn to "just sit". Sometimes we need to take time for ourselves, and sometimes, God can speak to us easier if we take the time to "Be still". My friend was not joking around with me when she thanked me for teaching her how to sit around. I guess some people need to know that it is okay to sit, relax and listen. God shows us many things when we sit down for some quiet time. He can show us things about ourselves. He can show us his creation...especially while sitting at a beautiful beach. God is waiting for us to "be still" so that we can "know" Him better. Take time to sit down..take time to look around you. God maybe trying to show you something, but you are too busy with life to see it.
So, don't be lazy...but Be Still. You can thank me later!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Shortcuts
My husband loves to take "shortcuts". You know, the kind that you think you are lost but of course, you are not because he knows "exactly" where you are! We had three days without kids. The youngest was visiting Grandma and Grandpa. The oldest we had just dropped off at camp in a place that is difficult to find with directions. We were on the adventure of a lifetime - that was his line. "We" decided to just drive around and find a place to spend a few days alone. Did I mention that we were in the middle of nowhere? I think we drove through part of a state land area of Michigan, which was full of trees, trees and more trees. While driving through our shortcut to nowhere, we saw a tiny log cabin sitting near a home with a sign on it stating that you could rent by the day. We stopped, rented it for our two nights and were excited to have some peace and quiet. During the one room tour and exchange of money and key, the man told us he had a canoe. He would drive us upriver, drop us for a peaceful canoe trip back to the cabin if we wanted. The next day, we decided to try our rowing skills and take the trip.
Waving goodbye to the stranger who dropped us off with his canoe, we began our adventure. It was quite a beautiful trip when we were not stuck in bushes or sitting on sand where the river ran too low. Toward the end of the ride, we began to head toward another group of bushes. The tree branch was going to hit my face, so I grabbed it. As I held the branch, the canoe continued to move. I am not sure if you can picture this or not, but my husband was behind me - behind the branch that I was holding as it bent further and further. He yelled for me to not let go, but by the time I saw his terrified face, the branch was bent so far I could not hold on any longer. Yes, I let go. What happened next actually happened in slow motion. The branch flung toward my husband's wide eyes. His arms and body went backward as if in a Matrix movie. Then, his feet followed his arms and body. He did quite an amazing back flip over the side of the canoe and into the river. His head popped out of the water to find his "should be concerned wife" laughing uncontrollably. I was bent over, holding my stomach that hurt from laughing so hard, with tears streaming down my face! What a hilarious event! It was priceless. I guess he did not find it as funny as I had. He dragged his soaking body back over the canoe and sat looking at me with one sandle on. The other had been sucked under the muck at the bottom of the river. Well, of course that caused me to break into another mindless moment of giggles.
I Will never forget that two day trip to nowhere. We had just wanted to get away from life for a few days. Isn't it amazing that God can bring joy and laughter in small silly things? If we had been too busy to take this mini vacation, I would not have this fun memory of our marriage. Of course, my husband may wish he had not taken the 'shortcut' that day!
Take time to be silly and laugh with your family or a friend. Take a shortcut in your life to give yourself a little time to relax. Take a few moments to find "you" again. Sometimes we get lost on the road to success and living life - we need to take time to just be. Time to laugh. Time to break loose and have a little fun. Ask God to show you a shortcut that you can take this week that will bring joy and laughter to your life.
Waving goodbye to the stranger who dropped us off with his canoe, we began our adventure. It was quite a beautiful trip when we were not stuck in bushes or sitting on sand where the river ran too low. Toward the end of the ride, we began to head toward another group of bushes. The tree branch was going to hit my face, so I grabbed it. As I held the branch, the canoe continued to move. I am not sure if you can picture this or not, but my husband was behind me - behind the branch that I was holding as it bent further and further. He yelled for me to not let go, but by the time I saw his terrified face, the branch was bent so far I could not hold on any longer. Yes, I let go. What happened next actually happened in slow motion. The branch flung toward my husband's wide eyes. His arms and body went backward as if in a Matrix movie. Then, his feet followed his arms and body. He did quite an amazing back flip over the side of the canoe and into the river. His head popped out of the water to find his "should be concerned wife" laughing uncontrollably. I was bent over, holding my stomach that hurt from laughing so hard, with tears streaming down my face! What a hilarious event! It was priceless. I guess he did not find it as funny as I had. He dragged his soaking body back over the canoe and sat looking at me with one sandle on. The other had been sucked under the muck at the bottom of the river. Well, of course that caused me to break into another mindless moment of giggles.
I Will never forget that two day trip to nowhere. We had just wanted to get away from life for a few days. Isn't it amazing that God can bring joy and laughter in small silly things? If we had been too busy to take this mini vacation, I would not have this fun memory of our marriage. Of course, my husband may wish he had not taken the 'shortcut' that day!
Take time to be silly and laugh with your family or a friend. Take a shortcut in your life to give yourself a little time to relax. Take a few moments to find "you" again. Sometimes we get lost on the road to success and living life - we need to take time to just be. Time to laugh. Time to break loose and have a little fun. Ask God to show you a shortcut that you can take this week that will bring joy and laughter to your life.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Chocolate or No Chocolate...that is the Question!
So, this is the story that started with me minding my own business. At least, I thought I was minding my own business. You see, we were on a short trip up north to get away...just my husband, two daughters and myself. We packed all of our belongings in the back of the SUV for a long weekend and we hit the road. I don't much enjoy long car rides. I don't know if it is my husband's driving, or the mindless, unending road that stretches before us that tends to bob and weave to my husband's road rhythm. Either way, it is not my favorite pastime. As we went on this four hour tour up to our former home to visit friends and relax, I began to listen to the music and pray while looking out the window...minding my own business. I was praying to God that this long weekend would help me know Him more and allow me to have a closer relationship with Him.
Then it happened. I don't know if I mentioned this already, but I was just minding my own business. I was not looking for a wonderful, spiritual experience. I did not plan to see Angel's flying around our SUV...although, I am sure they must have been there to keep up with my husband's road rhythm! I did not see it coming...just five simple words that hit me like a brick. They were so clear in my mind that I sat there holding my breath. I didn't want to believe that I even heard these five terrible words in the first place...it was horrifying! As I was praying, I heard God speak to my mind and these were the five words: "No sugar for a year".
Now, I am not sure what kind of woman you are, but if you are a nutritional guru or a Vegan, I don't think you will ever understand the effect these five words had on me. I am the type of woman who has tried diets. I can go on a die hard diet. I can stop eating sweets and eat healthy. But, after about three days of this die hard attitude, I am begging strangers on the street for just 2 little M&M's! I don't do well without my chocolate. I was picturing those strangers on the street as I sat in our SUV in a silent panic mode. I decided to not say anything...I would lay low with this information until I was alone with my husband that night. I needed time to digest this new information and figure out what exactly God could mean when He said, "No sugar for a year". It was quite a complex and confusing statement for me to try to examine on the road. I needed serious time and focus to try to analyze all of the hidden meanings in this statement.
That night, as my husband and I took a stroll along the lake, I broached the subject. I fessed up to what I had heard. Throughout the day, as I analyzed the statement, I knew I hadn't been speaking to myself - you know how sometimes you talk to yourself in your mind? Am I the only one who does that? Well, I had ruled that out, because I obviously would NEVER say those five words to myself! So, I ran through the scenario with my husband and I even told him what I had figured it to be. It must have been Satan. It was so logical! You see, I realized that Satan tries to destroy our lives. He knows what type of person I become during my three day die-hard diets - and what better way to destroy my family than to have me in that state of mind for a whole year! That must be it...Satan knew what it would take to destroy our family and he was trying to fill my brain with crazy, illogical thoughts.
Well, my husband did not seem to follow the same logical trail that I was on. He actually laughed at me. I was offended when he laughed, because it was his family that would be destroyed by this situation as much as mine. He obviously did not see the "big picture". He gave me the advice to wait a few days and put it out of my mind. Now, he was making more sense! I thought that maybe he was coming around to my side of the trail. Then he continued and said that if I stopped thinking about it and it continued to pop into my mind, then it was probably God trying to speak to me.
That is exactly what I did. I put it far out of my mind and enjoyed the rest of the night. I laid my head on the pillow ready for a peaceful night of rest. The next morning, awaking from my slumber...before I even had my little eyelids open, guess what popped into my head? You guessed it! "No sugar for a year". It kept nagging at me all week.
You know how it is said that we are "children of God"? Well, that week I was a brat. I was not happy with this crazy idea that God continued to bounce around inside my mind. I was stomping my feet and arguing with the God of the Universe. Have you ever seen a child who had to leave a toy store when they were not quite ready to leave? Can you picture the dad calmly taking the toddler by the hand and leading them out of the store? That is the picture of me and God that week. I was throwing a tantrum the size of a preschool class, and God kept calmly answering everything I tried to throw at Him. I argued and asked questions. God always answered me with a Bible verse loud and clear back at me. This is an example of the week:
"God, you know I can't go three days without sugar!"
"In your weakness is my strength"
"God, this is the craziest thing you have asked me to do. What if I don't want to do it?"
"Not your will, but mine"
"God, this is impossible! You know I will never be able to go without sugar for an entire year!"
"All things are possible with God"
So, you can see how this was going for me. Just to let you know, when you try to argue with the God who created you...you will probably lose the argument. I did.
I had a women's chocolate night set up for that Friday...ironic, I know! What that means, for those of you who have not enjoyed this wonderful experience, is that us girls had a night set up to watch movies. The "ticket" to get into the movie night was a chocolaty snack. Yes, this was my idea.
You would think that this would be the part where I tell you that I canceled the chocolate night and stopped eating sugar...you would think. No, not me! I continued to stomp my feet and whine. I decided to make a "deal" with God. Just so you know, I do not encourage tantrums, stomping feet OR deals when you are speaking to God, but thankfully, God knows me and put up with my silly childish behavior - but remember, we were talking about chocolate - doesn't sound so silly now...does it?
Thankfully, I was not struck by a lightning bolt during this "Deal with God", although I would not have blamed God if He had chosen that avenue for His response. I looked up at my ceiling and spoke to the God of the Universe...with the voice of a rebellious teenager; "Okay God, you said 'no sugar for a year' but you never told me what kind of sugar! Even apples have "sugar" in them...I would happily give up apples for a year. So, You have until Friday to tell me what kind of sugar. If you don't tell me before Friday, then no deal! If you do, then the chocolate party will be my last night of sugar for a year."
I felt so proud of myself that I had figured out how to get out of this mess. I didn't ask to be in this situation and I was not going to give in easily. I felt at peace the next few days...no booming voices, no sugar stories in the Bible...I was pretty sure I had "won" this argument. I laid my head on my pillow Thursday night with a smug smile across my face. Nothing had happened. Tomorrow was Friday. I told God He had to tell me before Friday, or no deal...I was home free!
Did you know that God can speak to you in dreams? I forgot this tiny detail when I cuddled into my comfy blanket that night. Waking up, I remembered my dream in great detail...
Can you believe that? Now I knew. "NO DEAL". God had won. He told me the answer to my rebellious question. Now, I had to do it. I kept up my part of the "deal". Friday's chocolate party was my last day of sugar for a year.
I found out that everything in America is made with "refined white sugar" in it. Many people found out about this story when they offered me candy at the school where I worked, cookies at Christmas and cake at graduations. My husband did not divorce me, my children did not disown me and I did not stop any strangers on the street!
God was right when He said that "all things are possible". He somehow wanted to show His strength to those around me by using my weakness for sugar. I never really had an answer to why God asked this of me. I know that people saw God's hand in my life during this time. I called it my "sugar fast" since I had given up sugar for God. One teenager in my church told me that she planned to fast lunch for a few days at school to pray for her friends. Her brother said that he couldn't go without lunch! She responded, "if Heidi can give up sugar for a year, we can give up lunch for a few days" and they did.
Those are the stories I loved to hear because it showed that God can use me even though I throw a fit and stomp my feet. He can use my life even when I don't want to be used! I think God will occasionally ask us to walk through something difficult in order to show us that we are not walking alone or in our own strength. Learn from my story...when you are throwing a fit - like a child in a toy store - about life and the situation you find yourself in, reach up for the hand of the Father. He will calmly lead you through life and show those around you what He can do with your life - if you let Him.
Then it happened. I don't know if I mentioned this already, but I was just minding my own business. I was not looking for a wonderful, spiritual experience. I did not plan to see Angel's flying around our SUV...although, I am sure they must have been there to keep up with my husband's road rhythm! I did not see it coming...just five simple words that hit me like a brick. They were so clear in my mind that I sat there holding my breath. I didn't want to believe that I even heard these five terrible words in the first place...it was horrifying! As I was praying, I heard God speak to my mind and these were the five words: "No sugar for a year".
Now, I am not sure what kind of woman you are, but if you are a nutritional guru or a Vegan, I don't think you will ever understand the effect these five words had on me. I am the type of woman who has tried diets. I can go on a die hard diet. I can stop eating sweets and eat healthy. But, after about three days of this die hard attitude, I am begging strangers on the street for just 2 little M&M's! I don't do well without my chocolate. I was picturing those strangers on the street as I sat in our SUV in a silent panic mode. I decided to not say anything...I would lay low with this information until I was alone with my husband that night. I needed time to digest this new information and figure out what exactly God could mean when He said, "No sugar for a year". It was quite a complex and confusing statement for me to try to examine on the road. I needed serious time and focus to try to analyze all of the hidden meanings in this statement.
That night, as my husband and I took a stroll along the lake, I broached the subject. I fessed up to what I had heard. Throughout the day, as I analyzed the statement, I knew I hadn't been speaking to myself - you know how sometimes you talk to yourself in your mind? Am I the only one who does that? Well, I had ruled that out, because I obviously would NEVER say those five words to myself! So, I ran through the scenario with my husband and I even told him what I had figured it to be. It must have been Satan. It was so logical! You see, I realized that Satan tries to destroy our lives. He knows what type of person I become during my three day die-hard diets - and what better way to destroy my family than to have me in that state of mind for a whole year! That must be it...Satan knew what it would take to destroy our family and he was trying to fill my brain with crazy, illogical thoughts.
Well, my husband did not seem to follow the same logical trail that I was on. He actually laughed at me. I was offended when he laughed, because it was his family that would be destroyed by this situation as much as mine. He obviously did not see the "big picture". He gave me the advice to wait a few days and put it out of my mind. Now, he was making more sense! I thought that maybe he was coming around to my side of the trail. Then he continued and said that if I stopped thinking about it and it continued to pop into my mind, then it was probably God trying to speak to me.
That is exactly what I did. I put it far out of my mind and enjoyed the rest of the night. I laid my head on the pillow ready for a peaceful night of rest. The next morning, awaking from my slumber...before I even had my little eyelids open, guess what popped into my head? You guessed it! "No sugar for a year". It kept nagging at me all week.
You know how it is said that we are "children of God"? Well, that week I was a brat. I was not happy with this crazy idea that God continued to bounce around inside my mind. I was stomping my feet and arguing with the God of the Universe. Have you ever seen a child who had to leave a toy store when they were not quite ready to leave? Can you picture the dad calmly taking the toddler by the hand and leading them out of the store? That is the picture of me and God that week. I was throwing a tantrum the size of a preschool class, and God kept calmly answering everything I tried to throw at Him. I argued and asked questions. God always answered me with a Bible verse loud and clear back at me. This is an example of the week:
"God, you know I can't go three days without sugar!"
"In your weakness is my strength"
"God, this is the craziest thing you have asked me to do. What if I don't want to do it?"
"Not your will, but mine"
"God, this is impossible! You know I will never be able to go without sugar for an entire year!"
"All things are possible with God"
So, you can see how this was going for me. Just to let you know, when you try to argue with the God who created you...you will probably lose the argument. I did.
I had a women's chocolate night set up for that Friday...ironic, I know! What that means, for those of you who have not enjoyed this wonderful experience, is that us girls had a night set up to watch movies. The "ticket" to get into the movie night was a chocolaty snack. Yes, this was my idea.
You would think that this would be the part where I tell you that I canceled the chocolate night and stopped eating sugar...you would think. No, not me! I continued to stomp my feet and whine. I decided to make a "deal" with God. Just so you know, I do not encourage tantrums, stomping feet OR deals when you are speaking to God, but thankfully, God knows me and put up with my silly childish behavior - but remember, we were talking about chocolate - doesn't sound so silly now...does it?
Thankfully, I was not struck by a lightning bolt during this "Deal with God", although I would not have blamed God if He had chosen that avenue for His response. I looked up at my ceiling and spoke to the God of the Universe...with the voice of a rebellious teenager; "Okay God, you said 'no sugar for a year' but you never told me what kind of sugar! Even apples have "sugar" in them...I would happily give up apples for a year. So, You have until Friday to tell me what kind of sugar. If you don't tell me before Friday, then no deal! If you do, then the chocolate party will be my last night of sugar for a year."
I felt so proud of myself that I had figured out how to get out of this mess. I didn't ask to be in this situation and I was not going to give in easily. I felt at peace the next few days...no booming voices, no sugar stories in the Bible...I was pretty sure I had "won" this argument. I laid my head on my pillow Thursday night with a smug smile across my face. Nothing had happened. Tomorrow was Friday. I told God He had to tell me before Friday, or no deal...I was home free!
Did you know that God can speak to you in dreams? I forgot this tiny detail when I cuddled into my comfy blanket that night. Waking up, I remembered my dream in great detail...
I walked up to an ice cream counter. The woman behind the counter was a past friend who was also a nurse. She asked, "would you like some ice cream...even though it's not good for you?" By the way, the ice cream she was scooping was my favorite Ben & Jerry's with giant chunks of chocolate in it. I responded, "No thanks. I'm not eating refined white sugar for a while." Then, I woke up.
Can you believe that? Now I knew. "NO DEAL". God had won. He told me the answer to my rebellious question. Now, I had to do it. I kept up my part of the "deal". Friday's chocolate party was my last day of sugar for a year.
I found out that everything in America is made with "refined white sugar" in it. Many people found out about this story when they offered me candy at the school where I worked, cookies at Christmas and cake at graduations. My husband did not divorce me, my children did not disown me and I did not stop any strangers on the street!
God was right when He said that "all things are possible". He somehow wanted to show His strength to those around me by using my weakness for sugar. I never really had an answer to why God asked this of me. I know that people saw God's hand in my life during this time. I called it my "sugar fast" since I had given up sugar for God. One teenager in my church told me that she planned to fast lunch for a few days at school to pray for her friends. Her brother said that he couldn't go without lunch! She responded, "if Heidi can give up sugar for a year, we can give up lunch for a few days" and they did.
Those are the stories I loved to hear because it showed that God can use me even though I throw a fit and stomp my feet. He can use my life even when I don't want to be used! I think God will occasionally ask us to walk through something difficult in order to show us that we are not walking alone or in our own strength. Learn from my story...when you are throwing a fit - like a child in a toy store - about life and the situation you find yourself in, reach up for the hand of the Father. He will calmly lead you through life and show those around you what He can do with your life - if you let Him.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Lessons from the Cottage
It's funny the things you remember when you lose someone you love. My grandpa passed away a few months ago. Some of my favorite memories of him was the time we spent together at the Cottage.
When I was younger, my grandparents had a cottage on a lake in Northern Michigan. I used to love going up to the cottage. My grandma would make chocolate covered marshmallows and my grandpa would spend his days keeping us happy. He taught us how to fish and how to clean the fish. I was so proud as a 9 yr old girl that I could scrape the scales off the fish I had just caught and clean out the guts as I sat alongside my dad, my grandpa and my big brother. I thought I was the luckiest girl ever! I am sure some of my friends would not have felt so lucky at that very moment of gutting a fish...but I was the only girl there. My mom and Grandma were inside the cottage while we were out in the garage getting messy. I remember when we were done with the fish that my grandma had the pan all ready to fry them up! My brother and I were so proud as we sat down to our fish fry that we had caught some of those big 3 inch pieces of fish at the table. I think we even pointed them out and made sure we had "our" fish on our own plates to eat.
At the cottage, one of the games Grandpa liked to play was called "Shark". There was a floating dock a few yards away from the shore. We would swim out to the dock and basically play "tag" around the floating dock. We would swim and look for Grandpa to try to catch him. We would have it all planned out and He would always get away with a giant grin on his face. Sometimes, we would search for him and he wasn't there. As we got older, we figured it out...he was ducking down in the water to swim under the dock to the other side...he had been there the whole time!
We played this game with Grandpa as long as I can remember. Always splashing and laughing together. Grandpa never treated me different because I was a girl. He taught me everything he taught my brother. I remember feeling like I could do anything I put my mind to. He always encouraged me to try something new - or more difficult - like slalom skiing (one ski, not two!).
My grandpa taught me to try new things, to get messy and enjoy life. I think that is what God is trying to teach us too...He wants us to try new things, enjoy life and laugh. Life will get messy sometimes, but He is always there for us. Even when we feel like God is missing and we can't find Him...He is there waiting for us. When we finally look away from our problems and look to Him, we will be able to see that He was there with us the whole time.
When I was younger, my grandparents had a cottage on a lake in Northern Michigan. I used to love going up to the cottage. My grandma would make chocolate covered marshmallows and my grandpa would spend his days keeping us happy. He taught us how to fish and how to clean the fish. I was so proud as a 9 yr old girl that I could scrape the scales off the fish I had just caught and clean out the guts as I sat alongside my dad, my grandpa and my big brother. I thought I was the luckiest girl ever! I am sure some of my friends would not have felt so lucky at that very moment of gutting a fish...but I was the only girl there. My mom and Grandma were inside the cottage while we were out in the garage getting messy. I remember when we were done with the fish that my grandma had the pan all ready to fry them up! My brother and I were so proud as we sat down to our fish fry that we had caught some of those big 3 inch pieces of fish at the table. I think we even pointed them out and made sure we had "our" fish on our own plates to eat.
At the cottage, one of the games Grandpa liked to play was called "Shark". There was a floating dock a few yards away from the shore. We would swim out to the dock and basically play "tag" around the floating dock. We would swim and look for Grandpa to try to catch him. We would have it all planned out and He would always get away with a giant grin on his face. Sometimes, we would search for him and he wasn't there. As we got older, we figured it out...he was ducking down in the water to swim under the dock to the other side...he had been there the whole time!
We played this game with Grandpa as long as I can remember. Always splashing and laughing together. Grandpa never treated me different because I was a girl. He taught me everything he taught my brother. I remember feeling like I could do anything I put my mind to. He always encouraged me to try something new - or more difficult - like slalom skiing (one ski, not two!).
My grandpa taught me to try new things, to get messy and enjoy life. I think that is what God is trying to teach us too...He wants us to try new things, enjoy life and laugh. Life will get messy sometimes, but He is always there for us. Even when we feel like God is missing and we can't find Him...He is there waiting for us. When we finally look away from our problems and look to Him, we will be able to see that He was there with us the whole time.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Winning the Lottery
God asked us to move. I was afraid to move and begin again. You see, my husband was the pastor of a small town church and the people there had become our family. I was quite happy and quite comfortable with my life. We had two young girls who would have to move out of the only home they had ever known.
We felt like we were supposed to start a new church plant and we even found the right town about 90 miles from our home. We knew we were on a journey of a lifetime! After the initial shock, we began to become excited about what God could do. We had no church, no building, no people and no money. It felt as if I was standing on a high dive, looking down into an empty pool and then I heard God say..."Jump!" It is so much easier to have faith when the pool is filled to the top with sparkling blue water, but when all you can see is an empty pool, it is much harder to trust. That is exactly what God was saying: "Trust Me".
If God asks you to do something, He will provide what is needed. He said, "trust me", so we began to look for a house in our new town. As we drove from "house" to "house" in the realtor's car looking for a home in our "price range" - did I mention we had no money? I had tears streaming down my face as the realtor drove us to the last rundown shack for us to tour before lunch. I could not move my two young daughters into a home that should be condemned by the health department! God wouldn't move us out of our nice home only to bring us to this..would He? I was so confused. How would this ever work?
We took a break for lunch at a local restaurant. As my husband went up to peruse the buffet, I sat alone and dejected at the table. I began to question God about this idea to move. It was not possible to buy a decent home with no money in the bank. We had already toured all of the broken down, dilapidated homes that was for sale in the area. I thought about the last place we had toured before lunch that had floors slanting at such an angle that my girls would fall out of bed at night...they would roll right out! I was questioning why God had asked us to move if we could not even find a decent place to live. I was looking at our bank account in my head and the doubts began to overwhelm me. Unable to hold back the tears burning my throat, I said, "God, if we are going to get a house, we are going to have to win the lottery!"
God spoke clearly to me as I sat at the small wooden table wiping the tears that were running down my face. I heard the words in my mind so clearly, I almost looked around to see if anyone else had heard it too.
God said, "I AM your lottery".
Again, I had been looking at the wrong things. I assumed we had to do all of this on our own, with our own bank account. I am not saying that you should go buy a house and expect God to pay for it. God had asked us to move. When God speaks to you, and you know what you are asked to do, He will provide you the means to do it. He will provide a way to accomplish the task He wants you to do. We were willing to obey, follow Him and begin a new journey. God was once again trying to teach me to trust Him.
As we left the restaurant, I had renewed hope. A friend was with us since we had decided to not return with the realtor. We began to drive down random streets looking for the homes on our list. We pulled over to get our directions straight as we did not know the area. Dennis, my husband, and his friend Ron were looking down at the street names and city map. Sitting in the back seat, I was getting a look around the neighborhood. I looked across the street and what do you think was sitting in the yard of a beautiful home? A "For Sale" sign! This house was not on our list, so it must be out of our price range, but we decided to walk around anyway. It happened to be empty inside. We called the number off the realtor sign. God had another surprise - the office was at the end of the block. They came right over to show us around. I fell in love with this house at first sight! It just so "happened" that the house had been on the market for over a year. The owners were building another home and needed to sell - the price had just dropped...into our price range! I did not have to settle for a decent home, I was able to buy a home I loved.
The day we signed the papers for our beautiful home, I realized that sometimes we need to look past what we can see. We need to close our eyes and start to walk out to the end of the diving board. Sometimes, all God is asking of us is to hold our breath and jump. He knows the future and He can provide the water! Go ahead - don't be afraid of what God is asking. Take a deep breath and dive into life! He is waiting to show you what He can do.
We felt like we were supposed to start a new church plant and we even found the right town about 90 miles from our home. We knew we were on a journey of a lifetime! After the initial shock, we began to become excited about what God could do. We had no church, no building, no people and no money. It felt as if I was standing on a high dive, looking down into an empty pool and then I heard God say..."Jump!" It is so much easier to have faith when the pool is filled to the top with sparkling blue water, but when all you can see is an empty pool, it is much harder to trust. That is exactly what God was saying: "Trust Me".
If God asks you to do something, He will provide what is needed. He said, "trust me", so we began to look for a house in our new town. As we drove from "house" to "house" in the realtor's car looking for a home in our "price range" - did I mention we had no money? I had tears streaming down my face as the realtor drove us to the last rundown shack for us to tour before lunch. I could not move my two young daughters into a home that should be condemned by the health department! God wouldn't move us out of our nice home only to bring us to this..would He? I was so confused. How would this ever work?
We took a break for lunch at a local restaurant. As my husband went up to peruse the buffet, I sat alone and dejected at the table. I began to question God about this idea to move. It was not possible to buy a decent home with no money in the bank. We had already toured all of the broken down, dilapidated homes that was for sale in the area. I thought about the last place we had toured before lunch that had floors slanting at such an angle that my girls would fall out of bed at night...they would roll right out! I was questioning why God had asked us to move if we could not even find a decent place to live. I was looking at our bank account in my head and the doubts began to overwhelm me. Unable to hold back the tears burning my throat, I said, "God, if we are going to get a house, we are going to have to win the lottery!"
God spoke clearly to me as I sat at the small wooden table wiping the tears that were running down my face. I heard the words in my mind so clearly, I almost looked around to see if anyone else had heard it too.
God said, "I AM your lottery".
Again, I had been looking at the wrong things. I assumed we had to do all of this on our own, with our own bank account. I am not saying that you should go buy a house and expect God to pay for it. God had asked us to move. When God speaks to you, and you know what you are asked to do, He will provide you the means to do it. He will provide a way to accomplish the task He wants you to do. We were willing to obey, follow Him and begin a new journey. God was once again trying to teach me to trust Him.
As we left the restaurant, I had renewed hope. A friend was with us since we had decided to not return with the realtor. We began to drive down random streets looking for the homes on our list. We pulled over to get our directions straight as we did not know the area. Dennis, my husband, and his friend Ron were looking down at the street names and city map. Sitting in the back seat, I was getting a look around the neighborhood. I looked across the street and what do you think was sitting in the yard of a beautiful home? A "For Sale" sign! This house was not on our list, so it must be out of our price range, but we decided to walk around anyway. It happened to be empty inside. We called the number off the realtor sign. God had another surprise - the office was at the end of the block. They came right over to show us around. I fell in love with this house at first sight! It just so "happened" that the house had been on the market for over a year. The owners were building another home and needed to sell - the price had just dropped...into our price range! I did not have to settle for a decent home, I was able to buy a home I loved.
The day we signed the papers for our beautiful home, I realized that sometimes we need to look past what we can see. We need to close our eyes and start to walk out to the end of the diving board. Sometimes, all God is asking of us is to hold our breath and jump. He knows the future and He can provide the water! Go ahead - don't be afraid of what God is asking. Take a deep breath and dive into life! He is waiting to show you what He can do.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Have you ever done anything Stupid?
Proverbs 14:15 "The inexperienced one believes anything, but the sensible one watches his steps..."
Have you ever done anything stupid? Sometimes we don't listen to wisdom or even our own conscience telling us not to do it...and we figure...why not? No one will see me anyway. We forget that even though no one sees us or knows what we did or said, that there could be consequences that follow. We could find ourselves stuck in a very uncomfortable situation.
I remember one of these situations someone was stuck in while I was working at a school one year:
Two kids at my school...outside on a cold February day...the coldest day of the year! One kid says to the other kid, "hey, you should stick your tongue to that pole".
So, this is the story...We didn't know he had done anything stupid. We would never have known what had happened after that little phrase was spoken because we never heard it said. We never would have seen it happen...and we didn't. What did we see? The kid, standing in the snow, with a napkin stuck on his tongue. "Why does he have a napkin stuck on his tongue?", we wondered. When we saw the blood spotting the napkin, we seemed to all have a pretty good idea what may have gone down. We knew what really happened when he spoke in a muffle, "Carl tolll me tu thick maa thung tu da poe".
Yup...a real life "Christmas Story". He took the dare of a "friend" and stuck his tongue right to the pole - some of the kids thought it was cool they could see parts of his tongue still on the pole...ouch!
So, remember...if we follow the wrong advice, or don't think about the consequences before doing something, we may just find our tongue stuck to a pole...ouch!
Have you ever done anything stupid? Sometimes we don't listen to wisdom or even our own conscience telling us not to do it...and we figure...why not? No one will see me anyway. We forget that even though no one sees us or knows what we did or said, that there could be consequences that follow. We could find ourselves stuck in a very uncomfortable situation.
I remember one of these situations someone was stuck in while I was working at a school one year:
Two kids at my school...outside on a cold February day...the coldest day of the year! One kid says to the other kid, "hey, you should stick your tongue to that pole".
So, this is the story...We didn't know he had done anything stupid. We would never have known what had happened after that little phrase was spoken because we never heard it said. We never would have seen it happen...and we didn't. What did we see? The kid, standing in the snow, with a napkin stuck on his tongue. "Why does he have a napkin stuck on his tongue?", we wondered. When we saw the blood spotting the napkin, we seemed to all have a pretty good idea what may have gone down. We knew what really happened when he spoke in a muffle, "Carl tolll me tu thick maa thung tu da poe".
Yup...a real life "Christmas Story". He took the dare of a "friend" and stuck his tongue right to the pole - some of the kids thought it was cool they could see parts of his tongue still on the pole...ouch!
So, remember...if we follow the wrong advice, or don't think about the consequences before doing something, we may just find our tongue stuck to a pole...ouch!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Finding Joy...
As I went on my trip to Thailand, I planned to visit and encourage people who are hurting. These people have been brought out of terrible darkness and are working now with different ministries around Bangkok.
The one thing I did not plan on was that they would show me what the Joy of the Lord is. As I saw their genuine smiles, laughter and light in their eyes, I saw in myself something I didn't know was missing. I lost the Joy of the Lord somewhere along the way. It took a trip around the world for me to realize it was not there.
I had planned this trip to help show God's love to others. God planned this trip for others to show me His Joy.
I am excited for this New Year 2012 - That I may have a fresh start with the Joy of the Lord!
Psalm 51:12 says, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation..." God can restore our Joy. The funny thing is, many times we don't even know we lost it. Lets take a look at our lives and see where our joy comes from - if you have misplaced God's Joy as I have this past year, then pray Psalm 51 over your life with me: "Lord, restore to me the joy of Your salvation"...
May you find your Joy again during this new year of 2012 -
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit"...Romans 15:13
The one thing I did not plan on was that they would show me what the Joy of the Lord is. As I saw their genuine smiles, laughter and light in their eyes, I saw in myself something I didn't know was missing. I lost the Joy of the Lord somewhere along the way. It took a trip around the world for me to realize it was not there.
I had planned this trip to help show God's love to others. God planned this trip for others to show me His Joy.
I am excited for this New Year 2012 - That I may have a fresh start with the Joy of the Lord!
Psalm 51:12 says, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation..." God can restore our Joy. The funny thing is, many times we don't even know we lost it. Lets take a look at our lives and see where our joy comes from - if you have misplaced God's Joy as I have this past year, then pray Psalm 51 over your life with me: "Lord, restore to me the joy of Your salvation"...
May you find your Joy again during this new year of 2012 -
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit"...Romans 15:13
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