Run to Get the Prize

" Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

--1 Corinthians 9:24-25

With Bugler's Dream and Olympic Fanfare echoing in our minds for the next three weeks, we get to rejoice with the victories and groan with the defeats of athletes who have been preparing for years. They train mind and body to win a coveted prize, to push themselves to greater extents and discipline themselves to persevere through injuries and setbacks. Sometimes when one falls I feel a sympathetic pain in my knee or chest, sharing the impact with them. And when one overcomes severe odds, I can't help but feel my heart soar as they fly down their course or through the air, expressing freedom, speed, and artistry in the unique ways of their specific disciplines.

We, too, are in training. I'm meditating on Psalm 119 this month as I prepare for a study, and the Psalmist so eloquently expresses the passion and discipline we need as we train for our forever crown. His heart is fixed on God and his word--he rejoices, delights, and sets his heart on God's laws. God's statutes are his counselors, and God's goodness to him is his very life. When he is sucker-punched by life, he doesn't wallow, but keeps his focus--he knows the One to run to, the One who gives him strength and preserves his life--the one who sets his heart free.

Daily he does the active exercise that training and discipline require: he seeks the Lord and hides his word in his heart. He considers, chooses, learns, obeys, follows, praises, recounts the Lord's ways. He runs in the path of the Lord. His soul is consumed with longing for God's laws.

Does life seem mundane? Don't forget, we are in training, and we serve an amazing Lord. Be enthralled with him again. Does life seem overwhelming? Fix your eyes on the one who preserves your life when you are "laid low in the dust." Remember the one who answers, strengthens, opens our eyes, gives us life, and sets our hearts free. In him we truly soar.

Colossians: Riches, Mystery, and Our Union with Christ

I haven't written or posted as I would have liked these last few months (been dealing with my own health issues that have limited my computer time, unfortunately!). So, I apologize for that. Hoping to be better soon!

Lately I've been thinking that life is disappointing. I see what could be, what I want...and it just isn't that way. Sometimes I think heaven sounds great because it will mean the absence of all the things we dislike in this life! And then I think...what a sad, shallow view of heaven. I would be content with so little! (My grandpa used to say that we use less than 10% of our brains...I think I'm definitely using less than 10% of my imagination here!)

Do we devalue God? Do we fall far short of understanding even a tenth of Christ's glory?

As I've been preparing for a Bible study in Colossians (such a meaty, wonderful book!), the theme of riches, fullness, completeness comes up over and over. And juxtaposed against these treasures are the "hollow and deceptive philosophies" that this world offers us. Paul was so concerned about these counterfeit treasures that he struggled even from prison in prayer, in conversation with believers who could visit them, in writing--to share the incredible riches and treasures that we have in Christ. The crowning verse, of course, is "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Someone so holy, righteous, supreme...has chosen an intimate relationship in being made one with us. Christ IN you.  A relationship compared to the vine and the branches--our very life and sustenance comes from him. To a house--he our foundation. To a body--Christ our head. We can live without a finger or toe, or even without an arm or leg if we must, though it affects all other members of our body...but we can't live without a head. To a marriage--two become one. What a mystery. What riches. Do we contemplate and search out this mystery? Do we dig for buried treasure?

I started looking in Colossians...what are these riches he keeps talking about? As God began to open my eyes, I realized how much we belittle the treasure!
1:2 Grace. Peace. union--"in Christ."
1:4 faith. love for the saints
1:5 hope stored up in heaven. The word of truth. The Gospel
1:10-12--he enables us to live lives worthy of the Lord! He strengthens, he fills us with knowledge of him, he is the vine that lets us bear fruit, he qualifies us for inheritance in his kingdom!

Imagine an earthly king who suddenly decided not to just give out gifts and be generous--but to allow multitudes of people become heirs, to share in his kingdom, his treasures, his glory? Unheard of! And God, so far above us...makes us children and heirs.  A vast mystery. An incredible treasure. Riches we underestimate.

1:13 rescued, bought
1:14 redemption, forgiveness
1:20 reconciliation to the Father, peace through Christ's blood
1:21 no longer alienated from God, no longer enemies
1:22 presented holy, without blemish, free from accusation. Hope in the Gospel
1:24-25 the word of God in it's fullness, saints like Paul who are messengers
1:26 the mystery revealed
1:27 glorious riches, Christ in you, the hope of glory!
1:28 we become perfect in Christ.

I could go on. Almost every verse in this book contains some richness, some meaty morsel that feeds our souls, some treasure that lifts us up. Read through a chapter each day for a week and ask God to open your eyes to the bountiful treasures he offers.

Perfection...or Joy?

I heard someone ask recently how we can be joyful when we keep messing up, when we keep sinning...when we struggle with perfectionism.

What an astute question!

Does joy depend on our ability to do things perfectly?  And if we could do that...would it truly give us joy?

Why do we make perfection a goal?  I can't speak for others, but in myself, I think one root is pride. Sometimes I don't even realize perfection is a goal of mine, until I experience that disappointment of sin or failure again. Then I see that expectation I had to be perfect. 

Another root is self-reliance. As a young Christian, I can remember thinking that one day I wouldn't mess up so much--maybe not even at all.  Although I can recognize the error in my thoughts now, I didn't see it then--but what I was really thinking was that one day I really wouldn't need Jesus. It sounds ludicrous to say such a thing! But that was the logical end of my train of thought.

I think part of the problem is that we don't fully embrace what we have in Christ. I used to come to the Lord's table with shame and guilt...I messed up again...repent, decide to do better.  I didn't come to commune with Christ (isn't that ironic--we call it communion but my focus was on me!).  I didn't come for my soul to be fed and nourished and strengthened. I didn't experience Christ's joy--the joy of the Lord is my strength! I didn't experience him rejoicing over me with singing. I didn't savor his undying love for me or revel in his boundless grace and mercy. 

I had moments of doing these things in my daily walk, but when I messed up, I didn't experience the fullness Christ has for us. I took my sin to the foot of the cross, and then I picked up the burden of perfecting myself as I left--instead of learning to live each moment in complete reliance on God, instead of digging deeper into his grace and love, instead of fully embracing how wide and deep and long and high and immeasurable his love and grace and mercy are.  I think we undervalue and underestimate what Christ has done, is doing, and will do in our lives in giving himself up for us and in living in us.

Our joy isn't in what we can do.  It's in our union with Christ. We "rejoice in the Lord," not in ourselves. In his glory, in his presence, with thanksgiving, with overwhelming awe, in his sovereignty, in his wisdom, in his power, in his love, in his mercy, in his forgiveness.

So when my eyes are on myself, on how I've sinned, how I've messed up...I take it to the Lord, I repent...but then I revel in Him. 

From Despair to Hope and Rest

Today I was reminded of a newsletter I sent nearly ten years ago now (May 2004), that has never made it to my new site here--so I thought I would repost tonight. Who knew Milne and Martin Luther could work so well together?

From Despair to Hope and Rest

By the time it came to the edge of the Forest, the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and, being grown-up, it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly.  For it knew now where it was going, and it said to itself, “There is no hurry.  We shall get there some day.”

—A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner 

On the first warm day of spring this year, I went out to my favorite forest preserve for some quiet reflection.  I followed the bark-chip-laden path, winding through the almost bare trees.  Here and there signs of spring dared to poke through the damp brown: a little green on the forest floor, a few buds, and patches of bright, happy blue-bells heralding the coming of warmer days.  I hiked around the bend when the brown gave way to a great grassy expanse that took my breath away: a new, spring green, a fresh-after-the-storm green, a glowing with dew-jewels green.  Draped around it the quiet stream beckoned.  “There is no hurry,” it seemed to whisper.

It reminded me of Pooh’s river, which draws a beautiful picture of growing up—and also a picture of our faith growing up, of trusting in God, of learning to rest in Him.  But I find many times that I am more like the “little streams higher up in the Forest, [going] this way and that, quickly, eagerly, having so much to find out before it [is] too late.”  I fight, I wrestle, I wonder why God doesn’t act sooner. Often, I reject His rest.  It is not the gift that I want.  I want change!  I want action!  I want it now! God offers instead the power, the strength to weather the storm, the deep rest of abiding in Him.

Martin Luther said,

“it’s not by reading or writing or speculating that one becomes a theologian; it is rather living, dying, and being damned that makes one a theologian.”  

I find in his words someone who understands the constant struggle, the testing of life, the questions that come, and the relief of knowing I’m not the only one.  This is the truth he realized when he read Psalm 22:1, later quoted by Jesus, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

When I struggle, I often feel as Paul did, hard pressed on every side.  I read the stories of Jesus healing so many, yet live with a husband God has chosen not to heal.  And then my children—how do you read story after story, “Jesus healed…Jesus healed…” and not feel slammed into the wall by the daily “no” you face when your chronic illness is not healed?  Do you hope God’s answer is “not yet?”  Do you wish for the relief of death?  Do you resignedly accept your “fate,” or do you continue to allow yourself to be emotionally beat up by unanswered prayers, hoping this time…  What kind of hope carries you through, carries you beyond?

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8,

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.”   And he wrote this only 3 chapters to the verse after proclaiming in 1:8, “ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia.  We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.” 

How did Paul go from a deeply despairing man to one who did not despair, who was not crushed, who knew he was not abandoned, and that destruction was not his end?  He continues, “Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.  On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers…”

Paul had good reason to despair, who wouldn’t?  He was imprisoned, flogged, and

“exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move, I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches…”  2 Corinthians 11:23-28. 

He despaired—and then he relied on God, gained strength to go on, and found he did not despair.  This is the comfort we pass on one to another.  When we find a God so reliable, so trustworthy, so unmistakably loving and sovereign that we can turn to Him in the most severe trouble, fix our eyes and our purpose on Him, and believe Him when circumstances deny His existence, then we have found the secret of comfort.  And in our prayers and in our love, we can carry a battle-weary brother or sister into the presence of the God who heals us by His wounds.

The Psalmist cries out,

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?

And Isaiah calls back,

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’?  Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” —Isa 40:27-31

You can almost feel the river growing, gaining strength as the Psalmist continues,

Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me. —Psalm 13

Winter is sometimes very long.  But spring is coming, and the love of our great and sovereign Lord is unfailing.  We know where we are going.  And there is no hurry when we rest beside the quiet stream, where He restores our souls.

Hoping in Him, Merry

Treasures Hidden in the Darkness

What satisfies you?

The world insists we cannot be satisfied unless our circumstances meet our desires and expectations.

It is the work and nature of unbelief to belittle and limit the fullness of Christ in the eye of the soul. It…conceals and locks up Christ’s treasure and fullness…There is a rich, a glorious, and an overflowing fullness of all good treasured up in Christ for poor sinners, and his grace abundantly exceeds both our wants and sins.

~Edward Pearse, c. 1673

Doesn't that just make you hungry to know more of Christ?  Where is this abundant feast?  How can we dig in?  We need to be fed and fulfilled. The world beats on our souls with doubt until we don't even look for much from God, and we spiritually stagger from day to day, barely sustained on crusts of bread and a bit of thin gruel. I long for more, I hunger for more...I'm learning like a newborn to demand more.

Some days I slip down memory lane, and remember the days when Dave worked at church—they seem so far away now. Echoing in my mind I hear, “Grandma, this is our new pastor. He likes kids!” This was high praise for Dave, coming from a sixth-grader who had just met him a few minutes before. Dave spent a lot of time with that sixth-grader, Steve, and the other junior high students. They used power tools together to build shelving, a cabinet to store puppets, and games for the kids’ “carnival” nights. “If they build the games, they’ll take better care of them—and of church property,” Dave reasoned. He always had willing helpers to run the games for the little kids.

The boys were so excited. “We get to use those?” they asked in wonderment as Dave pulled out the drill and jigsaw. “Tools are loud and dirty, everything a boy could want!” Dave told me. He dovetailed his life into theirs with the skill of a pastor-craftsman. Their best products were not wood and paint, but character quality built over time and with loving workmanship.

That is the life we’re supposed to be living, not this hellish roller-coaster of confusion and pain. God, this is insane! Why did you take it all away? Where is the man you gave to me? You let me have him for a glimpse, you taunt me with moments, and then steal him away again. What about our lives didn’t please you that you thought robbing this man—and the world—of Dave’s joy to minister would somehow be better?

Do you hear the doubt, the unbelief in my thoughts? God robbed us, taunts us. God wasn’t pleased with us. The pull of the road to bitterness is wide, strong, rational—and blind to God. And the treasures that God holds out to us in suffering are locked up tight. Where is the key to unlocking them?

Pastor Cliff, who counseled me the first three years of Dave’s disability, handed me the key in Romans 12. “Be willing.” Willing to go through whatever God puts in our path.

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will…

~ Romans 12:1-2

If life just happens to us, then we are victims. But God holds out to us a great honor. We are not victims if we lay down our lives, if we walk willingly with God on whatever path he has for us, even if that path is filled with pain that we can’t escape.

When we lay down our lives, God is not our adversary, but our Leader who goes before us. He is the Friend who walks with us, the Father who lovingly carries the pieces of our broken hearts, the Beloved Bridegroom who suffers with us—and the Comforter who brings us peace.

“And I will give you treasures

hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know
that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel,
the one who calls you by name.”

~Isaiah 45:3 (NLT) 

He is calling you by name. Waiting, with rich food for your soul, longing to give you secret riches of his grace, mercy, and sustenance. Praying you will be fed and encouraged by him today as you look to him.

Excerpted from Invisible Illness, Visible God, Day 10. Available now.

God Gives More Than We Can Handle

Ever feel like God has given you more than you can handle?  You're in good company...and God offers us real hope:

We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

~ 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9

“God won’t give you more than you can bear,” is a popular Christian sentiment, meant to encourage the person who is suffering or experiencing some trial. Yet when your world is falling apart, it does not encourage; it brings uncertainties and a sense of failure—after all, if we can’t handle what we’re facing, what does that say about our faith and our God?

To me this thought both denies reality and waters down God’s power in our lives. It encourages us to be stronger on our own, and to believe there is something wrong with our faith or we could handle our pains better.

The reality is, there are often things in this life that are so awful, terrible, complicated, overwhelming, or painful that they are, indeed, beyond what we can endure. Paul, famous for his joy in the midst of suffering, the man who sang in prison after being beaten, admitted the hardships that he and his companions bore were far beyond their ability to endure, and despaired. Sometimes we will too.

We can stop striving to be spiritual giants who can bear anything "with God's help." Help is for the hard times only, for getting past that rough spot until we can do it on our own again. We were not made to handle things on our own. Relying on God doesn't ever end. It's a continual, daily process of relinquishing self to God. It's continual communion with him.

(excerpted from Invisible Illness, Visible God: When Pain Meets the Power of an Indestructible Life, day 57.)

Invisible Illness,Visible God: coming in a couple of weeks!

I'm so excited!  The proofs for my book are being delivered Tuesday!  Lord willing, it will be released May 1st or sooner.

Invisible Illness,Visible God: 

When Pain Meets the Power of an Indestructible Life.

Read the Intro and first two devotions.

My husband Dave has been disabled by an “Invisible” Illness for 13 years now (he was eventually diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease). In fact, I find it staggering that nearly one in two Americans has some kind of invisible illness—something they deal with on a daily basis that others can’t really see, whether it’s cancer, asthma, learning disabilities, anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, chemical sensitivities, or any number of other conditions.

Sometimes a diagnosis comes quickly, and other times we can search for years, trying to find out what’s wrong with ourselves or a loved one.  Either way, the answers can come as a crushing shock. One day our world comes to a screeching halt—but the rest of the world continues on, largely oblivious.

In some ways, many more of us have an “invisible illness.”  Not all hurts come with a diagnosis.  Anyone who has lived with the pain of broken dreams, unmet expectations, the death of a loved one, regrets, fears, worries—has lived with a private pain that the world just can’t see.

But God sees. God understands. God cares. And Jesus continually intercedes and acts on our behalf with power.  He is

…one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life…

~ Hebrews 7:16

When I first read this, I was blown away because I realized that since Jesus is in me, then this power of an indestructible life is in me, and I could rest in that power. Something more powerful than my emotions, a peace that passes understanding! And since we are in Christ—this peace is a sure refuge.

We are not powerless. 

Jesus is our priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life—an immense power to overcome immense pain. On our own we drum up despair, depression, thoughts of death—and he comes to save us with life-giving power. God offers us the ability to walk through the flames and come out more beautiful. God enables us to choose life over death, and to choose love over bitterness. We are weak, but his power rescues us. He is the better hope by which we draw near to God.

Often we want the physical miracle, the visible one—and sometimes instead he makes himself and his love visible to us. Pain meets the Power of an Indestructible Life, full on, face to face—and God calls us to fix our eyes on him.

The power of an indestructible life

His love endures forever—Psalm 107:1
His faithfulness reaches to the skies—Psalm 108:4
His righteousness endures forever—Psalm 111:3
His salvation lasts forever—Isaiah 51:6
His covenant is everlasting—Ezekiel 37:26
He betroths us to him forever—Hosea 2:19
He puts his Name on us forever—1 Kings 9:3
His sanctuary is among us forever—Ezekiel 37:26
He lives with us forever—2 John 2
He will swallow up death forever—Isaiah 25:8
He reigns forever—Psalm 9:7
He gives us his Holy Spirit forever—John 14:16
His word stands forever—1 Peter 1:25
He remembers his covenant forever—Psalm 111:5
He is a priest forever, he has sworn!—Hebrews 7:21

Downloadable Bookmark:
The Power of an Indestructible Life

Imagine—Jesus never, ever stops interceding for you, his beloved, his delight.  He uses the greatest, most extraordinary power that exists on our behalf, to be our priest, our intercessor, our guarantee, our hope. He could condemn us and instead betroths us and unites us with him.

Indestructible life.  Forever.  That is the surety, the rock, of his covenant with us.
His mighty power encouraged me in my darkest days, and I pray that you also will draw strength from his power.

Look for my book around May 1st!

Later this week, I'll post a "sneak peek" of the back cover. And in the meantime, enjoy this bookmark on The Power of an Indestructible Life.

Clay Pots

"Clay pots were meant to be broken, so that the contents inside could be revealed."

My friend's words startled me in a profound way.  I don't know why, but sometimes I don't expect to hear something new when I come to the Word.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

~2 Corinthians 4:6-7 

I often relate to our weakness in these verses, compared to his glory, power, strength, and beauty.  Our lives, the ordinary pot; his life, the extraordinary one--and the two come together and give us honor and value.  When I think on our brokenness, I do see that God is glorified then.  But the picture was so clear when she said it--we are reminded once again that the broken shards of our lives are not mistakes.  Everything is useful.

When our brokenness seems useless or unbearable, he reminds us again that nothing--even such sacrifices as these--will ever go to waste.  Beautiful contents such as love, hope, kindness, and humility spring forth from our brokenness.  He may use our brokenness to soften our hearts in compassion towards others--or may lead others to learn compassion and love through our pain.

Of course, we have some choice in the matter.  We can carry around bitterness, anger, despair, and blackness inside.  Or...we can share honestly when these are part of our pain, allow the light of Christ to touch, to walk alongside, to carry, and eventually to heal.  And along the way, our brokenness reveals his glory.  A power not from within us--we don't merely pull ourselves up by our bootstraps to overcome these very natural human emotions.  We lay them at his feet, these broken shards that have wounded our spirits.  The life that we cannot fix or put back together is not wasted, is not useless, if we submit it to our tender Lord who knows more intimately than anyone else the pain of injustice, mockery, forsakenness.  He was broken for us to reveal the incomparable riches of God's mercy and love toward us.  And we in our brokenness can continue to reveal him.  For he truly can bring beauty and healing out of broken lives.

Like a Weaned Child

"But I have calmed and quieted myself, 

I am like a weaned child with its mother, 

like a weaned child I am content." 

 ~Psalm 131:2

My kids and I are reading through the Psalms currently, and this one hit home in several ways.  I am not always so patient and calm as I wait for God to meet my needs. Things seem so urgent from my point of view! But I try to keep going back to that knowing that he doesn't abandon us, knowing he sees, knowing he cares, knowing we are in his hands.

How did the Psalmist calm himself?  He wasn't proud.  His heart wasn't fixed on matters that were beyond his sphere--his hope was in the Lord.  A hope as solid as a child's.  He was content.

Spurgeon* points out in his commentary,

"It is no easy thing to quiet yourself; sooner may a man calm the sea, or rule the wind, or tame a tiger, than quiet himself."

Ah...but we have the One who calms the sea and wind, the One who even created the animals, within us.

"We are clamorous, uneasy, petulant; and nothing but grace can make us quiet under afflictions, irritations, and disappointments."  

Nothing but grace.  Grace which lures us daily, moment by moment, to rest in the one who will surely provide for us, surely care for us--the one who absolutely loves us more than we can imagine.

The weaning process is difficult, is painful.  We are weaned from self-reliance, from the world's enticements, from pride, from our desire for control...and we are taught to turn and trust in our true Provider, to rest in his Providence.

Spurgeon goes on to say that the child is not weaned from his mother, but on her:

"My soul doth like a weanling rest,

I cease to weep;

So mother's lap, though dried her breast,

Can lull to sleep."

*Quotes of Charles H. Spurgeon are from The Treasury of David: Classic Reflections on the Wisdom of the Psalms.

Blind Landings - Olympian Faith

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing 

love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the
LORD, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)

I love watching the Olympics. My heart leaps hurdles with a good performance and
dives in agony when an athlete falls. My eyes were glued to the flying high-bar
performers, and the incredible men’s flares on the pommel horse. I marvel how
anyone can jump off the ground and do a double somersault with a twist.

Then there were the tiny pixies performing perilous feats on a four-inch bar that I
couldn’t even hope to attempt on the ground! "Look at her toss her head back," one
announcer said. "That’s an added degree of difficulty because she can’t see the
beam." Indeed many gymnasts performed a variety of blind landings with confidence
and poise. Though they could not see the beam, they knew exactly where it was as
they somersaulted, twisted and turned.

I find life, too, is full of blind landings. Circumstances pull our heads back or leave us
tumbling through the air, hoping we’ll land safely, though landing at all seems a
perilous journey.

Where do athletes find their confidence? They train. They accept instruction from
their coaches. They focus their minds. And when they fall, they get up again.

Where is our confidence? Proverbs 3:26 says the Lord will be our confidence. We
sometimes fall, but in Christ we have a certain landing spot. 1 John 4:16 says that we
rely on the love God has for us. While the balance beam is only 4" wide, the width of
God’s love is boundless.

Hebrews 4:16 declares that we can approach God with confidence, knowing we’ll
find mercy and grace in our time of need. Christ gives us His righteousness, and "the
effect of righteousness is quietness and confidence." (Isaiah 32:17)

This last word for confidence means a place of refuge—both the fact and the feeling
of safety. Do we dwell in that refuge? I have to confess that I only do sometimes.
God never wavers, and I am always truly safe in Him, but sometimes I forget.
Sometimes I neglect the disciplines of being in training. I don’t work to focus my
mind. My faith becomes flabby instead of continuing to seek God.

But God is a fortress, a refuge, a place where we find rest, a God whom we can
trust. "So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What
can man do to me?’" (Hebrews 13:6)

You might answer, "Man can do an awful lot to me!" Here I think the King James
Version is helpful, as it translates this passage, "I will not fear what man shall do to
me." Why? Because God, and not this world, is my refuge. This echoes David’s
proclamation in Psalm 27:3 that "Though war break out, even then will I be
confident." Solid. Steadfast. Unwavering on the beam of God’s love.

Perhaps your confidence has faltered from a fall. It’s ok. Get back up. We can be
"confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6) This is the verse I cling to when I
can’t understand what God is doing in Dave’s life. No illness or sin issue or failure or
tragic life circumstance can thwart this plan of God’s. The "confidence" in this verse
means to rely by inward certainty. To believe.

Confidence really unwraps the word "faith" for us. So often we think faith is like
hoping there might be a place to land sometime. It’s shrouded in uncertainty. But faith
truly is confidence; it’s "being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you do
not see." It is coming to God, believing "that He exists and that He rewards those
who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:1, 6)

God is coming again; this world is not all we live for. Our reward is in heaven. Let’s
diligently seek Him like an athlete in training. Let’s fix our eyes on Him, listen to wise
counsel—and when we fall, get up again.

We live in a world that can be shaken, a world where mountains crumble and fall into
the sea, a world of wars where we can be besieged. What we have faith and
confidence in, what we rely on must be stronger than this world. In God we have a
love so sure that the world can literally fall apart, and His love is still real, immovable,
ever present. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken from a God who
cannot be shaken. Have confidence in Him. Rely on His love for us.

May we be solid. Steadfast. Unwavering on the boundless beam of God’s unfailing
love.


Read more Stories of Hope

Identity in Christ

Dave has always been a big believer in understanding what our Identity is in Christ.  He compiled this list from Neil Anderson's Victory Over the Darkness, and also from his own studies.

Since I am in Christ, by the Grace of God….

I am now acceptable to God (justified) and completely forgiven.

I live at peace with Him.  (Romans 5:1)

I have been forgiven of all of my sins and set free.

I have crossed over from death to eternal life with God.  (John 5:24)

The sinful person that I used to be died with Christ, and sin no longer rules my life.  (Romans 6:1-6)

I am a child of God.  I can call Him “Father.”  (John 1:12, 13, Romans 8:14-17)

I was chosen by God to be adopted as His child. (Ephesians 1:4,5)

I am God’s possession, chosen and secure in Him (sealed).

I have been given the Holy Spirit as a promise of my inheritance to come.  (2 Corinthians 1:21,22)

I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  The new life that I have because of Jesus will never go away.  (Galatians 2:20)

I am a temple – a dwelling place – for God.  His Spirit and His life live in me.  (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19)

I am God’s building project, His handiwork, created in Christ to do His work.  (Ephesians 2:10)

I am only a visitor to this world in which I temporarily live.  (1 Peter 2:11)

I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.  He listens to my prayers.  (Ephesians 2:18)

I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God in prayer.  He will meet my needs lovingly and kindly.  (Hebrews 4:16)

I can endure all things through Christ who gives me strength.  (Philippians 4:13)

God's Promises in the Desert

"Trust...does not mean hoping for the absence of pain but believing in the purpose of pain.  After all, if my almighty God is really almighty and my heavenly Father is really fatherly, then I should trust that he can and will do what is good for me in this sad world."

~Kevin DeYoung

The Good News We Almost Forgot 

I've been contemplating these words because I do find it very difficult to trust.  A friend told me she has outright told God, "I don't believe you are working for my good."  Gut-level honesty.

I've been contemplating what it means to be "in Christ" and the marriage themes throughout the Bible.  I confess and repent that in my heart I have falsely accused God of having wandering eyes, of not really looking out for us, not really helping us.  But we are his temple that he has consecrated and put his Name there forever.

My eyes and my heart will always be there. 

~1 Kings 9:3

(emphasis mine--and if this was true for the temple built by human hands, how much more for the temple he has made?!).  He has never been the adulterous one, though our eyes have wandered.  His promises are sure and true.  They are as wedding vows:

They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them:

I will never stop doing good to them, 

and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.

I will rejoice in doing them good

and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

~Jeremiah 32:38, 40-41

(emphasis mine).  Do you hear his heart?  We are his and he is ours.  His covenant is beyond "till death do us part."  He will never stop doing good to us--even when he inspires us to fear him.  He rejoices in doing good to us.

Therefore I am now going to allure her;

I will lead her into the desert

and speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards,

and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she will sing as in the days of her youth,

as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

“In that day,” declares the LORD,

“you will call me ‘my husband’;

you will no longer call me ‘my master.’

...

I will betroth you to me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

in love and compassion.

I will betroth you in faithfulness,

and you will acknowledge the LORD. 

~Hosea 2:14-16, 19-20

The Valley of Trouble (Achor) will become a door of hope.  He has not abandoned us in the desert, but led us.  And he has not led us into the desert for evil or to let us die (as the Israelites feared in their desert wanderings).  We may not know all his purposes, but he allures us, speaks tenderly to us, covenants with heart and soul, gives all for us...for our good.  Even now.

They will be called the Holy People, 

the Redeemed of the LORD; 

and you will be called Sought After, 

the City No Longer Deserted.

~Isaiah 62:12

You, are Sought After.  You have captured his heart.  He will, he is, doing good to us even when we cannot see it.

I gave you my solemn oath 

and entered into a covenant with you, 

declares the Sovereign Lord, 

and you became mine.

~Ezekiel 16:8b

God Hears

Have you heard the one about Hagar, when she cried out to the Lord and he took away all her trouble?  No?  Probably because that's not how the story goes...though that's how we want to view God and is often how we pray.  And the lack of tangible answers can send our faith into a tailspin.

Tucked in the middle of Abraham and Sarah's journey to learn to trust God completely, we find the mixed-up story of Hagar.  God had promised heirs to Abram (his original name), but 10 years went by, and the 85-year-old man remained childless.  His wife, Sarai, had the bright idea to follow one of the customs of the day and gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to him, so they could have a child that way.  (Hagar was likely acquired on one of their trips to Egypt, when Abram asked Sarai to pretend she was his sister so he wouldn't be killed on account of her beauty.)

Just as Adam accepted the fruit from Eve, Abram accepted Hagar and lay with her.  Hagar became pregnant (I would guess much to Sarai's chagrin) and began to despise her mistress.  It must have been pretty degrading, because Sarai complained to Abram, and he told her to do whatever she thought best.  Unfortunately the wounds of barrenness and humiliation ran deep, and what she thought best was to mistreat her servant until she ran away.

Talk about a dysfunctional family!  Was Hagar completely innocent?  No--but she didn't deserve the treatment she received either.  But here's where the story gets interesting.  Hagar, pregnant, runs into the desert, and God finds her on the road to Egypt. She had likely made this trip before and would know how harrowing it was--no one but a fool would attempt it alone.

Perhaps it was that sense of foolishness and futility that made her evade the Angel of God's question, "Where are you going?"  It was not unlike the question to Adam and Eve, "Where are you?" or the one to Cain, "Where is your brother?"  God knows how to find us when we have desperately lost our way.

God's advice?  Go back to your mistress.  Now, she'd probably die if she kept going in the desert, but return to the trouble she had left?  That would seem unthinkable.  And it would have been except for two things:

One, God heard her.  He had seen her misery.  Why should a woman likely raised to believe in other gods care what God thought?  Because he cared for her.  Hagar is changed because she saw God, and she believed he saw all that she went through.  She was not outside his sovereignty, his control.  There is safety in the storm, in the Lord.  Perhaps like Abram she was discovering that the Lord is our shield, our very great reward.

Hagar, the foreigner.  The servant.  The sinner.  Yet she saw the God who sees us.

Two, the mixed blessing that God gave her.  Life was not going to be easy--her son would be hated.  But her descendants would become too numerous to count.

The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what happened when she went back, but apparently Hagar was safe.  It seems that she became Abram's servant after that, because years later Sarah tells him what to do with her rather than taking matters into her own hands.  The child?  Ishmael:  God hears.

Did Sarai ever wonder if God heard her pain as well?

Maybe God's path for you isn't easy.  Maybe insults and injustice are there, or maybe you have been waiting decades to see a promise from God fulfilled or a heartache relieved.  Maybe you wonder, where is God?  He hears you too, your misery, anguish, confusion. The years and the journey may seem long, but he has not abandoned you.   He hears.  He sees.  He cares.  May you see the God who sees us.

Why is Love the "Greatest of These?"

(1 Corinthians 13)
The tongues of men and angels...will be stilled
Prophecies will cease.
Knowledge will pass away.
Mountains will crumble.
Faith--is needed in this life, not when we see God face to face.
The giving of money or of human life is of this world.
Hope looks to a future that is not yet ours.

These are all temporal; love is eternal.  Love is forever.


See also:  Loving our Kids

Healing - When the Miracle Doesn't Come

The accuser is constantly hissing in our ears:  "Where's your Jesus now?"  When we read the New Testament, it seems healing is everywhere.

"Jesus doesn't really care about you..."  "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean," the leper in Matthew 8 said to Jesus.  Jesus was willing then, but not now it would sometimes seem.

"You're not good enough."  Really?  He counts our hairs (Matthew 10:30) and gathers our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).

"Your faith is worthless!  If you were really a Christian..."  Jesus said it only takes the faith of a mustard seed--the tiniest of seeds.  He didn't turn away the one who had just a modicum of faith.  "Help me in my unbelief!" the father in Mark 9:24 begged, and Jesus didn't reject him--he healed his child.

The tempter hissed in Jesus' ear too.  "If you are the Son of God..." he challenged Christ.  The lie was powerful to a parched and hungry man, a sock in the gut when he was already down, a blow of pure hatred at his weakest moment.

And in that moment, Jesus had a choice.  He was fully God, he did have the power to turn stone into bread.  But in his very first words, he chooses instead to identify fully, completely with us.  "Man..."  He is not only God.  He is man.  And he chose to live as we do.

Most of us don't have the ability to snap our fingers and make trouble or pain go away--and I don't think it's a lack of faith, though sometimes that may be an issue.  I think most Christians have at least as much faith as the father who asked Jesus to help him in his unbelief.  At least as much as a mustard-seed.  But our mountains don't always move.

Jesus in that moment chose to identify with us, in our pain, and told us in effect, you don't need the removal of pain to live.  "‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"

His words echo Deuteronomy 8:2-3,

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.  He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Jesus spent a day in the desert for every year they wandered in the desert.  God's spirit led him into the desert to starve--the very thing the Israelites accused God of leading them into the desert to do, despite the food and water and clothes that didn't wear out that God provided for them.  And we, too, wander in our faith at times, in our deserts of pain and trouble and silence from God.  And we wonder, why has he brought us here?

Jesus identified with us.  Maybe he brought us into the desert that we might identify with him.  That we might be able to see beyond the pain, the trouble, the thing we think we just can't live through--and see that he, the Bread of Life truly knows, truly understands, lives through the pain with us--and he will see us through.  He is what we need most of all.

See More Stories of Hope

Challah Bread: The Pinch

In our small group, my husband led us in a study of OT feasts that he called “Portrait of the Messiah,” because the feasts reveal so much about Jesus. When we studied the Sabbath, I made Challah bread, and found it an especially spiritually moving experience. These are my musings from that day:

Challah is traditionally a richer bread, made with eggs. Two loaves are served, reminiscent of the Lord providing a double portion of manna in the desert, so that the Israelites wouldn’t have to gather it on the Sabbath. A portion of the dough is pinched off in dedication to the Lord after saying a blessing. Originally the command was from Numbers 15:20 to give a portion of bread to the priests, a portion dedicated to the Lord. Today the pinch is to be burned.

“Mom, what’s a pinch?” my kids asked…and I too wondered, how much do I give to the Lord? (I remember the widow of Zaraphath who baked the last of her bread and gave some to Elijah…)

The simple act of pinching off a piece to dedicate to God reaches far into the soul. It’s like giving a bit of my life to God. Maybe there’s something I need to do but don’t want to—but I can pinch off that bit of time and dedicate it to the Lord and do what He has asked—suddenly there is joy in the task. Suddenly there is holiness.

Dedicated—irretrievable. What do we think we’ll dedicate to the Lord and then take back in our time or our money or other gifts—they were not meant to be accessible to us again. A dedication cannot be taken back. It is no longer ours—it belongs to the Lord.

Peace. Wheat that I ground (and they would also have grown), and then mixed—and then let rest. Dough that I kneaded, the heel of my palm pressing into the spongy form until it springs back and glistens—and then let it rest. Then braided and formed—let it rest again. And finally baked—and then it rests. Bread is full of resting.

Vulnerability. As if I have pinched off something of me in that pinch, because I was there in the making of it—as was He. There is no bread without rain, without land, without strength, without fire...or without the mysterious seed that somehow grows and becomes something new. And there is no bread unless we harvest, process, mix, knead, form, bake. A physical connection with the workings of God. The part that I give is so small—and what He gives fills the stomach and the soul. And so we pray over the pinch and connect with Him again.

I thought, I hold the pinch in the palm of my hand, about the size of an olive. I control so little—just this one piece of dough. I realized how small I really am. Our lives, all of our needs, my kids spiritual lives, my husband’s health, everything—is in the palm of the Lord’s hand. And so we, who can do nothing, appeal to the Lord for strength, healing, wisdom. If we have the power to help someone or to affect anything in our lives, it is from the Lord.

I hold the fate of this one piece of dough. Treat it as holy—dedicated to the Lord. But it is just a small offering.

What else is in our hands? The ability to help another. Treat the opportunity and especially the person, as holy. Dedicate our time, our possessions, whatever portion we can give—to the Lord. Give thanks to the One who enables us to give. And remember His rest, His peace.

The Sabbath meal is served without knives (or a knife is covered if one is needed), because it is a day of peace. The braiding of the bread means you can break off a chunk easily—no cutting needed. Peace—for today we lay down our weapons of war, whether wars between countries or wars between individuals. The lion lies down with the lamb. There are no knives used in the baking of the bread. Swords are pounded into plowshares. Hatred, anger, malice, revenge—all put aside to let peace reign in our hearts and allow the Lord to heal the wounds and touch our hearts.

The bread of life—we pinch off a tiny piece in trust. We are giving our food—and He becomes to us the Bread of Life, our Sustainer, Healer, Provider—He becomes the food that sustains and the Eternal Food.

Sufficient to Each Day

No matter how many times I hear this sentiment, it's never too many times! So, I thought I would share today's "Grace Gem." Perhaps as I usually do, you have some anxieties you should let go of today.


Sufficient to Each Day

by Theodore Cuyler

"As your days--so shall your strength be."
Deuteronomy 33:25

Sufficient to each day are the duties
to be done--and the trials to be endured.

God never built a Christian strong enough to
carry today's duties and tomorrow's anxieties
piled on top of them.

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is
enough for today." Matthew 25:34

Why do some prayers go unanswered?

I read this question online recently...and oh, how many times I've asked myself the same question.

I wrote on Unanswered Prayers in my newsletter.

Other post I've written that speak to this topic:
Be Stumped
Praying with Perseverance
From Despair to Hope and Rest
The Miracle

There is no short answer to this question. There are some answers...and lots of mystery. There's a whole chapter full of people who did not receive what was promised to them (Hebrews 11). I think on that frequently...as well as the encouragement to pray and not give up, from Luke. When I don't know all the "why's," I meditate on what I do know--the truth of God's character. Circumstances will lie to us about who God is--they don't tell the whole story. So I go back to the Word. Psalms is full of heartache, longing for God's answers...and looking to God's character.

Ps. 13 is a favorite of mine because it expresses the torment so eloquently, and also what I want my mind and eyes to focus on as I wait for the Lord.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

God bless, Merry

My testimony

Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household…My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart. —Job 17:11

My church asked for testimonies, and I refrained for awhile from writing mine. In many ways I wonder, what do I have to offer? What is my testimony? Eight years ago this June—after a 3-year battle to find answers for my husband’s headaches, confusion, chemical sensitivities, memory loss, joint pain, anxiety and depression—Dave had to leave his position as children’s pastor at our church. Eight years of praying for Dave’s healing—have our tears fallen on deaf ears?

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?How long will you hide your face from me?How long must I wrestle with my thoughtsand every day have sorrow in my heart?How long will my enemy triumph over me?” —Ps 13:1-2

The God who sees, who hears, who—dare I say cares?—has given no answer to our fervent pleas.

Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?— Ps 10:1

Where is the healing that walked the earth 2000 years ago? Surely God isn’t dead? Isn’t impotent? Hasn’t turned a blind eye?

Why are you so far from saving me,so far from the words of my groaning?O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,by night, and am not silent. — Ps 22:1b-2

Every fiber of my being cries out with Psalm 13, How Long, O Lord? We live a lament. And I know we are not alone—so I write this for you who need to hear.

What is my testimony? After all this, eight years of Lyme Disease, of Dave unable to work, sometimes coherent, sometimes confused, pain, anger, anguish, despair, feelings of abandonment, rage and bitterness trying to force their way in and take over—after all this—I love the Lord. And that is a bigger miracle than the one we seek.

But for the Lord who gives us life and breath and everything else, who holds us in the very palm of His hand, who weeps when we weep—But for Christ who intercedes for us continuously—But for the Lord I would surely turn away in bitterness and frustration and lack of faith.

But for the Lord who envelopes us in love from practical to spiritual through many at our church—the men who have sought to befriend Dave and minister to him, the women who are my dear friends, the pay Dave received while waiting for disability to kick in that enabled us to keep our house and make it here, the many other gifts and remembrances—But for the Lord, I would not have blessings to count in the midst of this horror—the good days with Dave, our encouraging children, the comfort of home, the joy of seeing green after a long winter.

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. —Heb 5:7

The One who could save Jesus from death heard His prayers yet did not spare Him…if we have the same response from God that Jesus did, all is still well.

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” — Job 1:21

My testimony is nothing flashy. I’m a mom raising her kids with the husband I love, for better or for worse. My testimony is just the basics, the things I go back to when Satan fills me with worry and fear: God is good. God is sovereign. God loves me. He will never leave us nor forsake us. And we are safe in His hands—even when everything in our lives screams we are not.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Rom 8:38-39

In His Hands,
Merry

Loving our kids

Several years back I did something that was more transformational in my parenting--and my relationship with my husband--than almost anything else I can think of. I decided (really it was a God-thing, I think) to pray through I Corinthians 13:4-7 for that year. And since someone reminded me of that today, I thought I'd blog about some of my meditations during the months I prayed through this. As I recall, I prayed until September, but I decided to break it down a little further here:

In January I prayed through "Love is patient." Three little words...one huge task! "God, help me be patient when my kids are driving me nuts, when my husband is feeling sick and all I want is 5 minutes to myself." "God, am I patient? Show me where I am not patient, open my eyes that I can repent and submit that to you." Now, just so you know, if you pray for God to show you your weaknesses, He will! But He is the Father of all things Love, and if we need patience, he is the one to go to. "God, I'm out of patience--give me your patience so I can love my family."

February came, and I moved on: "Love is Kind." Are my words, my tone, my actions kind? Am I modelling the kind of kindness I hope my children will learn? God says that his kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Does my kindness lead my children to repentance, does it inspire them to want to obey? And kindness is not doormat--sometimes the kindest thing to do for a child is to establish and enforce boundaries--if it is done with kindness, compassion, love, a desire to not just have things easy, but to do what's best for our family and for that child. "God, help me to be kind. That tone I used today--oh Lord it was full of selfishness, of me--it was not kind. Help me to do better."

Selfishness...yeah...that leads me to March. "It does not envy. It does not boast." Eight words, we're moving up! "But surely, God, I'm not envious, am I?" But every time I compare my kids with other kids in my mind, in creeps either envy or boasting. We look on the surface and think others have it better--or conversely perhaps that we are better--and what fruit do these musings bring? Do we unconsciously model sometimes the very selfishness we are trying to train out of our children? Does love motivate such thinking?

April--"It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking." I guess God thought I needed another month on this theme! Rooting out pride is not easy, from our children, or from ourselves. But God never promised it would be easy. He did promise, He would be with us.

May--"It is not easily angered." I find I am not as easily angered if I keep on top of behavior issues--it's when I get lazy and ignore them and the frustration inside me builds that my anger can flare. I need to pull away, even for 5 minutes, to pray and read and get in the right frame of mind. "God, I know you are not easily angered--though sometimes I fear you will be! Help me to understand your grace and forgiveness towards me, and help me to show this to my children. Help me to train them."

June--"It keeps no record of wrongs." Hm, I remember times when I've said, "You always do this!" Yes, we parents keep records of wrongs!

July--"Love does not delight in evil, but always rejoices with the truth." What kind of a parent delights in evil? you might ask. Sheepishly raising hand. Sometimes I don't want to teach and train and discipline my children. Sometimes they make me downright angry and what I really want is revenge. A friend taught me to put "Mom" in the place of "man" in this verse:
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,20 for [Mom's] anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." James 1:19-20 (NIV)

August--"It always protects." Do my actions protect my child, or my own interests? Conversely, sometimes the best protection for our children is to let them experience the consequences of their own actions.

September--"Always trusts." One of the most powerful articles I've ever read spoke of parents who believed in their son, and spoke into his life what they believed he could become. They trusted that he wanted to be a man of integrity and character, and they told him, even when he failed, that they knew he could grow up to be that kind of young man. Do we throw failure into our kids faces, or do we build them up by believing in them? Take a chronic sin issue and tell your child, "I believe in you. I know this is a struggle now--and I'm going to walk with you through this time. I know you can grow up to be a man/woman who is honest. Let's pray, and you let me know how I can help you with this."

October--"Always hopes." Do I have hope for my children? Or do I sometimes give up? Sometimes when I'm tempted to give up, I've been neglecting myself--after all, that's what self-sacrificing, "good" moms do, right? No, good moms take care of and invest in their child's most important resources--one of which is the child's mom. Hopelessness is almost a sure sign I'm not getting enough sleep and rest, or I'm not eating right & drinking enough water, or exercising, or spending time with the Lord...

November--"Always perseveres." "Lord give me strength when I want to give up!"

"Love never fails." A fun word-study is to search the Psalms for all the times it mentions God's unfailing love. We will fail--but He never does. Draw on His unending reserves of unfailing love daily, hourly, minute by minute.

May God give you grace and love and wisdom with your children, your husband, and those in your life. Merry :-)