Goodness Me, It's Been a While!

Hey all!  I wanted to debunk the rumors that I gave up blogging for Lent!  But if you've wondered, I don't blame you; last time I wrote was Ash Wednesday.  That was the middle of last month.  Goodness!  In that time baby girl turned one, we traveled to Omaha for my grandmother's 90th birthday (she and Katherine have the same birthday!), and February turned in to March all of a sudden.

I've been trying lately, to stay on top of things better.  Now that we're out of the first year of Katherine's life and I feel more like myself, I have the energy to be about my business here at home with the family and to get some regular exercise.  In addition, the husband has had a busy season at work, adding a little to my responsibilities.  The funny thing about actually devoting myself to my work, is that there doesn't seem to be much time left over.  Oh, how finite we are!  Each of us gets 24 hours a day and we need to sleep some of that time.  So where have I been? I've been wanting write, but needing to use my time other places.  I'm sure you know the drill.

The difficult thing is making peace with it.  Am I right?  Once one does, life is so much happier!  If we dwell in a grumpy place, cursing our responsibilities or (as I'm prone to) ignoring them, we're quickly embittered and/or consumed by them.  But if we look at life and say, Hey, this is the life I have right now, I'm gonna embrace it and learn to love it, well, life is a whole lot brighter.  At least that's been my experience.  I have done my share of cursing the darkness and refusing to light a candle, so to speak.  :)

This coming Wednesday I have a day mostly to myself; the husband has an all-day job interview and my (super cool) in-laws are watching the kids so I can tag along and check out the area.  I think I'll use some of that time to assess my weekly schedule and see if I can't plan better so I can write here with some consistency.  I miss it and have many I-want-to-write-about-that moments, but have to choose.  You know?

Okay, now that I've filled you in a little on what's been going on around here.  How are you?  Do you find yourself needing to choose these days?  How so?

And finally, some verses for your encouragement, because God's Word is where it's at.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;

    my hope comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, you people;

    pour out your hearts to him,

    for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8

On Keeping a Holy Lent*

No, I'm not the person to ask about keeping a holy Lent.  For what it's worth, I don't believe I've ever even kept Lent "well."

But our pastor had copies of this little pamphlet by Craig R. Higgins at the back of the church several years ago and I go to it each year at this time.  I was thankful to find it online to share with you!

Rev. Higgins asks some very potent questions to get one started thinking about repentance during this time of preparation for real, enthusiastic, joyful celebration on Easter morning:

• What are my characteristic sins, and how can I work and pray for change?
• What idols have captured my imagination so that my love for the living God has grown cold?
• In what ways is my devotion to Christ and his church less than wholehearted?

Here's the other quote that gets me every time I read it:  The point of Lent is not to give up chocolate; it's to give up sin!

I do think that giving something up can cause us to give up sin, reminding us or our desperate need for a Savior and leading us to repentance.  But the point is drawing near to God in repentance, not giving something up for it's own sake.

In fact, this year I'm considering adding something to my life that I believe will lead me to repentance, showing me just how much I love myself, my time, and me, me, ME!!!  If you choose to fast during Lent, choose wisely AND everyone does not need to know what you've given up, though it might be helpful to have a couple of confidants for accountability.

There you have it, my brief thoughts on Lent.  Being that I am me, I probably could say more ... ha ha ha!  But I'll close with this.  Someone mentioned "The Jesus Prayer" to me in a Facebook comment.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It behooves us to remember that we are sinners in need of a Savior (all the time!), and that He indeed is merciful, forgives our sin, and gives us new life.  What a better time than now, to join Christians around the world and through history in observing a time of greater focus on repentance.  Our sin is big, but as Corrie Ten Boom said, There is no sin so great, that God's grace is not greater still.

May this Lenten season, however you observe it, draw you closer to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.


*This is a repost from a couple of years ago, updated for this year.  There are so many posts half written in my drafts or in the back of my head, but the days are running out before I get to writing lately!

It's February 1, How Are You Doing?

*This is a repost from two years ago.  I just updated the list for this January.

January is over.  The first month of the new year, with all of it's fresh hope for change and new commitments, has come to a close.  Did you make resolutions?  How are you doing?

From articles I've seen online and chatter with friends, most don't even make it through January without at least one slip-up.  So February 1st offers an opportunity to re-up, buckle down, put your chin up and show your goals who's boss.

Then March first will come.  And where will you be?

I don't want to be depressing.  I think setting goals and making plans are wonderful! (I can be described as Type-A. Ahem.  A little.)  But often our resolutions seem so unforgiving when we don't achieve as we hope, mocking us as we enter week two of the new year and we've already failed.  For example, every semester of college I swore I would stay on top of my class readings.  By the end of the first week, I was already behind.  Every semester!  And I've exercised twice in the last 31 days; a 6% achievement rate.  Nice, Heather.  Real nice.

One option to "fight the failure" is not to make any resolutions at all.  Don't have expectations, and you can't be disappointed, right?  That's just not healthy.

So this morning, I had a new thought based on some verses that we can make into an equation:

If, God is Love.  (I John 4:16)

And, Love never fails.  (I Corinthians 13:8)

Then, God never fails.

Taking that equation, think back over the month of January.  How has God not failed you?  Or, in the positive, how has He proven Himself faithful?

Takes a lot of pressure off, doesn't it?  God is active in our lives, and we can look back to see how He has protected, guided, forgiven, sustained, helped, and loved us.  Then it's not so much about us and our achievements, but God and His working mightily in our lives.  Praise is given where praise is due.

Here are some ways God was faithful in my life in January:

• We were not sick for the entire month!
• Using that husband of mine to encourage and direct me.
• Restoring my pre-pregnancy energy.  (2012 had it's ups and downs.)
• Brian has showed some amazing growth in maturity of late.
• I've been offered an opportunity to speak at our annual women's event in April.
• New Christian neighbors, right across the street!
• Providing time and giving me no excuses about opening up our home in hospitality.
• My heart is starting to rest more in the freedom of Christ, so January has been hopeful, joyful, and, well, fun!

To name a few.

Would you take a few moments today to think about how God never failed you in January, and give Him thanks?  Maybe share a few things in the comments!

And let's anticipate God's faithfulness in the month of February!

Start Here

Reading Psalm 29 today.

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
    Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
    with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
    the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
    and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 

10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
    the Lord blesses his people with peace.

The voice of the Lord is powerful.  It was the Lord's voice - His Word - that called all of creation into existence.  It is His voice that can bring the dead back to life.  It is also His voice that can strike terror; for He is holy and just.

But look at those last two verses.  Should the Christian live in (the scared kind of) fear?  Oh no!  We must honor the Lord and submit to Him, for He is enthroned as King forever.  But take a look at verse eleven.  This mighty, powerful God, to Whom all glory is due:

gives strength to His people;the Lord blesses His people with peace.

Friends, we must start our days in two ways:

1. Ascribing to the Lord the honor, glory, worship, and praise due His name and

2. Remembering how much He loves, cares for, strengthens, and blesses His people.

Yes, to some degree God is untouchable and unknowable, and we must simply and regularly ascribe to Him the glory due His name.  But to a pretty amazing degree He has made Himself known to His people through His Word, revealing that He loves His children, calls them to be His own, and promises to bless and keep them.  To bless and keep you, friend, if you have put your trust in Him.  Incredible, isn't it?!

Let's begin the day at the right starting place: ascribing glory to the Lord and remembering He will give us strength and bless us with peace.  Then taking a look at the to-do list or praying through concerns can be flooded with hope, not despair.  Because the Mighty God to Whom we pray is not only able to meet our needs, but loves us and desires to.

Blessings on you today!

Truth Transforms: How God Moved Me from Worry to Peace

Since I'm reading through Truths We Confess: A Layman's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith by R.C. Sproul in these early months of 2013, I have the suspicion (and you should, too) that I'll be sharing from them occasionally, as I encounter thoughts and ideas worth passing along to you.  Here's where we'll begin:  Sproul wraps up his thoughts on Chapter 3, Section 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith with these words:

God is not the only worker in the universe, however.  We are also workers.  We are actively involved in making choices and exercising real power.  Energy is really transferred from one thing to another.  But these things do not happen independently of God.  He exercises his power and sovereignty over all created things 

The more we reflect on this and work through  some of the apparent difficulties, the more we realize that our destinies, our lives, and our children's lives, in the final analysis, are not exposed to the blind forces of chance or fate.  This is our Father's world, and our lives are in his hands.  His purpose and will are being brought to pass.  For this reason no consistently Reformed person can be a pessimist.  You may be pessimistic in the short run or in limited areas, but in the long run and in the big picture, you can only be an optimist.  Do we just dabble in Christianity to feel good about ourselves or be spiritual, or do we really believe that there is a living and reigning God of the universe?  If we do believe that God is sovereign over all things, that should impact our whole way of thinking.  To think theistically, to have a Christian worldview, is to see ourselves, the world, life, and history under the guidance, direction, and will of God.

~R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess, p 81-82

*     *     *

I was raised in a Christian home and I am very grateful for it.  It is a blessing to easily call to mind Scriptures and hymns that did not mean much to me at the time, but are supremely meaningful in my life now.  Despite an up-bringing in the church, however, I did not catch on to what Sproul lays out above until years after leaving home.

All my life I was a worry-wart.  I worried a lot about my reputation, being perfect, not messing up, getting excellent grades.  I worried, because I believed that so much rode on those things.  If x, y, and z did not turn out just so, then I was doomed to a future of misery and sorrow.  I also worried about terrible things happening to me: house burning down, loved-one getting sick or dying in a tragic accident, and so on.  I worried about so many things I could not control because, well, I couldn't control them and that scared me.  This pattern/habit/lifestyle of worry began as early as I can remember.

Now I look back and can see clearly how it controlled me. I remember, when we were first married and lived up in Cambridge, MA around the time of the anthrax scare and talk of biological warfare, if I was awake and night and heard an unexpected plane fly over, I'd wonder if "this was it."  Crazy, right?

Well, I don't know.  If our fundamental view of life does not include the truth of the sovereignty of God, maybe it's perfectly normal to think it all rides on your performance, the fates, and/or karma.

If our fundamental view of life does not include
the truth of the sovereignty of God,
maybe it's perfectly normal to think
it all rides on your performance,
the fates, and/or karma.

But up in Cambridge we found ourselves in a church that diligently taught Scripture, weekly preached the Gospel, and instructed us in good theology.  Boy oh boy, did God, in His perfect timing, use that to do something to me!  As the years marched by, the worry-wart began to transform into a woman at peace.  The Lord opened my eyes to the fact that my life is not a television drama.

Neither is yours.

The God of all creation offers mercy, redemption, and transformation to his creatures who don't deserve it.  While you were sinners, Christ died for you.  And if that's not enough to knock your socks off, the Bible says that God, the One who is in charge of and watching over all that is going on, works all things together for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose.

It is naive to imagine that you can orchestrate your life in such a way as to avoid pain or suffering.  The Bible  (and so does our experience, really) teaches us that those are part of living on earth   It is also foolish to  live in fear of potential disasters striking like they do in the movies (at just the right emotional time). Why are those approaches to life naive and foolish?  Because God Almighty has revealed Himself - Truth - to us in His Word, and He says 1) difficult times are unavoidable and 2) not to fear, because He is in control - sovereign - over all of it.

Dear friend, if you are a Christian, you need not be a pessimist, because you worship, love, and serve the God who has all things under the guidance and direction of his perfect and trustworthy will.  That's not wishful thinking, that's solid ground.

Friend, if you are not a Christian, I invite you to check God out: talk with people who know Him, attend a worship service (or more), start reaching the Bible (I recommend starting with the book of Mark or John).  The Truth sets people free, and I'd love for you to know freedom!

Have a great Sunday!

The Worthless Made Worth-full

Sometimes I get to the end of the day, and even if I enjoyed most of it - having spent my time well with the kids and laughed around the dinner table when dad got home - once the children are asleep, I can go to my physical or mental to-do list and suddenly feel like a failure.  The change in my mood is swift and fierce.  Suddenly it was a terrible day because I didn't get enough done, according to some standard set somewhere in my heart.

Well, hello idol!  How quickly I let you be in charge of me, my mood, and my sense of worth!!

Have you been there too, friend?  If so, I've got a word for us today, so read on.

*     *     *

Are you familiar with this verse in Jonah's prayer from the belly of the great redemption fish?

Those who cling to worthless idols, forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

Jonah 2:8

Or this one, about Israel just before they were exiled from the promised land?

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers

and the warnings he had given them.

They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.

2 Kings 17:15a

The Bible has very much to say about worshiping idols and the disaster to which it leads: missing out on God's grace and, further, becoming as worthless as the idols that are worshiped.  

When our affection is placed on something worthless,

we go the way of worthlessness.

We wither; we wilt; we die:

For the wages of sin is death,

Romans 6:23a

Oh, it is a sad state of utter depravity!  None of us can escape it on our own, because (be honest!) you're an idol worshiper just like me.  You bow every day at the altar of self.  Without an intervention, there's no alternative.

Scripture tells us God intervened!  Romans 6:23 continues:

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The natural consequence for our idol worship (worshiping anything or anyone other than the One True God) is death - utter worthlessness.  We get what we deserve.  BUT God comes on the scene with a gift: LIFE!

Search the pages of Scripture and you'll find out even more about this gift of eternal life.  Not only are we rescued from death, but we're given a place in a family - God's family.  We're drawn from depravity into righteousness.  It is the gift of all gifts (definitely not what we deserve!), in which we find the continuous and endless joy, hope, life, peace, and joy that our idols have not and will not ever be able to supply.

Israel turned from God to idols (passing on any opportunities God gave them to repent), and thus forfeited God's grace, becoming as worthless as the mute idols to which they sacrificed and in which they trusted so foolishly.  But Scripture tells us that if we take by faith the gift that God offers - eternal life in Jesus - our value is restored.

When our affection is placed on the One who is worthy,

we go the way of worth-full-ness.

We bloom; we flourish; we live!

The worthless is transformed into something valuable, precious, and cherished.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should become children of God!

And that is what we are!

I John 3:1a

Again this worth is not because of who we are, but because of Who we worship.  He lavished His love on us, so we could become His children and be restored to worth-full-ness.

*     *     *

It's difficult isn't it, Christian, (knowing how often we stumble and fall and worship at the altars of deaf and dumb idols), to believe we are valuable to and loved by God the Father?  Like Martin Luther said, most days

I feel the old clinging dirt of wanting to deal so with God that I may contribute something, so that he will have to give me his grace in exchange for my holiness. Still I cannot get it into my head that I should surrender myself completely to sheer grace; yet [I know that] this is what I should and must do.

So to you and to myself today, I want to issue this reminder, encouragement, and exhortation:

If God has called you to be His own, His love for you and your worth to Him is unchanging because of the gift of eternal life given through Jesus Christ our Lord.  You are worth-full, because of what He chose on purpose to do in your life, rescuing you from your sin, giving you new life, declaring you righteous.

IT IS AWESOME, or as John Newton said, AMAZING GRACE!

Turn your face from those idols as soon as the Spirit moves in your heart to reveal your sin.  Repent and believe that God really forgives your sin in Christ.  Every.  Time.  And go forth boldly in your worth-full-ness to the King of kings and Lord of lords, to love and serve Him and your neighbor.  You have been called according to His purpose and are loved and secure beyond what you might ever be able to imagine.

Much love to you in Him today.

Seeking Wisdom in/for 2013

Happy new year!  I wonder how the first couple days have been for you.  I've been very tired, and I didn't even make it to midnight to ring in the new year on Monday night!  Today I'm feeling much more rested, however, perhaps that's why you're hearing from me.  :)

Usually I make a buncha crazy resolutions this time of year.  I do have some thoughts in the back of my head, but I didn't wrap up 2012 with a concrete plan for the new year other than to read through these books:

And keep reading the Bible.  This morning I was thinking about focusing on the Psalms and Proverbs this year.  Do you have any good books on your end table that you're planning to read?

All that said, the real reason I'm writing today is to share these verses with you from Proverbs 3.

13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
    the man who gains understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
    and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
    nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
    and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
    those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Reading these this morning got me to thinking about how I don't necessarily pursue wisdom.  I look for good  advice or suggestions as to a good way to do things, but that is not always the same as seeking wisdom.  Then I thought about how I could also be helping my children to seek and desire wisdom - and that perhaps that is even more important than getting them to simply obey me.  (Though it is wise to obey one's mother and father!) 

Aaaaaanyhow, I wanted to invite you to chew on these verses a little with me here at the beginning of 2013.  According to Scripture, finding wisdom is "where it's at," and it begins with the fear of the Lord.  I'd love to be a little wiser (to God's glory) by the end of this year.  How about you?  The Bible teaches that we begin that process by looking to our God - the source of all wisdom - learning from His word, listening to and for Him in prayer, asking the Spirit to work in our lives.  In short, leaning not on our own understanding, but rather leaning on Him to find the straight path.  There I'm sure we'll find God's got some renovation in store for us this year, without making any official resolutions of our own!  :)

Happy New Year, friends!