The Land Rover

My Land Rover has been going through some very rough days. It spent Spring break in our garage getting a make over, thanks to a very good friend and my husband. And, now, it is back in the shop, sitting alone waiting for yet another diagnosis. I've been told that Land Rovers are picky, and high to maintain, but my desire to drive my Land Rover still has not wavered. The fact that the window sometimes will not go down or the doors will not unlock or the seats will not move, has not seemed to bother me very much. I still like my Land Rover. My husband, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly irritated with my Land Rover! Especially, since he just spent so many intimate hours with it in the garage, I think he is ready for me to sell it and move on to something less moody. I'm probably going to have to give in to that idea, because right now I'm driving a Buick, and even though my son wants to go on a cross country trip in the Buick, I just can't see myself and the Buick being friends for a long time. No offense to the Buick, of course. It's a great car, and I'm thankful for it's services.

Another Land Rover would be cool, but I'm betting my husband would object to that idea. An old Land Cruiser, maybe, or a Jeep....

So, I'm bringing my engine issues before my God, because of course there's no money to buy anything and as long as my fantastic Land Rover is sitting in the shop needing repair it's not really worth anything either. Minor detail. I'm reminding myself that God wrote the plan, He has the solution, He knows what to do. For now, I'm in a Buick and it's all good. Say That Again, Jesus, you are my provider and you have provided well for me on this day. Thank you!

 

The Wholeness

 I have been led to read in Isaiah a lot lately, God has had some powerful verses for me there. This morning He took me to Isaiah 9 and I love versus 6 and 7 in the Message:

"For a child has been born--for us! the gift of a son--for us

He'll take over the running of the world

His name will be Amazing Counselor,

Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness

His ruling authority will grow and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings."

NO LIMITS, to me that means through the Son of God He can and will counsel anything for me, He can and will be strong at all times, He is always eternal, He is whole and He makes me whole IN Him! Because of who He is, and who I am IN Him, there are no limits, because HE RULES!!  

There is the issue of living here on a sin-infested earth, and I get to deal with all kinds of issues that sometimes feels like such a brokenness that I wonder if it will ever get better. Thrones in the flesh, like Paul talked about, and I continue to cry out to God to remove them and bring wholeness. I know He can, yet still there are so many challenges. The enemy roars, and though victory is mine, my day is rough!

I have come to see that with those rough days I continue to run back to my Amazing Counselor, my Strong God, and Eternal Father. He continues on a daily basis to give me the wholeness I need for the moment. Step by step, day by day, He is guiding me through the maze of my life. He has the map of my life, He is my wholeness, the victor in all things. He is not only running the world, but He gets to run my life, one day at a time! This is wholeness.

Jesus, Thank you for being such an amazing gift and an Amazing Counselor.  Thank you for running the world, and my life. Thank you for being a Strong God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Wholeness. Please Say That Again to me, I need to hear it everyday!

The Glorious Morning

I don't suppose that I will ever completely understand what He has done for me. But I do know that on that Glorious Morning, the tomb was empty. And, because the tomb was empty, I am not. He has promised light, hope, courage, and a completeness IN me. Because the tomb IS empty, I can experience His power, I am forgiven, I can press on towards the goal of the call of Jesus. Because of the Glorious Morning and the empty tomb, I am a citizen of heaven, a Saint waiting for the arrival of my Savior. He will transform my body into a glorious body like His own. He will make me beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which He is putting everything as it should be, under and around Him.
Say That Again, Jesus, It was a Glorious Morning, and the tomb is empty!

The Wilderness Road

This morning as I conversed with God about many of life's details He reminded me of a verse in Isaiah chapter 43:19: "Behold I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert."
Once again, He is reminding me that I'm on a Roadway, His Roadway. My job is to focus on praising His name today, loving Him today, and seeing that today He is doing a new and amazing work in me and around me, and through me! He is a God of such wonder and grace, that even in the wilderness, when I am able to focus on trusting Him there is newness and healing in my life and the lives of others. He is the Living Water, the breath that I breathe, the Light that lights the Path in the wilderness, the Roadway on which I walk!
Living in the world I live in, the busy stuff, the onslaught of one trial after another, the demands of home and work, the needs to balance life, etc....it can be a challenge to merrily skip along on the Roadway praising God's name and living in trust! The Enemy is a pro at throwing distractions my way, and if I look any other direction, I can be  gone. Gone, as in doubting, fearing about the future, lonely, isolating, unable to trust those who care.  The Roadway that God has so lovingly laid out for me has become far more treacherous and I have built many detours along the way! I've added shades here and there so its' far more challenging to see His light , and I've thrown in some rocks on the road so I stumble along, I run ahead leaving my family and friends behind so I'm isolated and alone. Or, I get caught up in the past, thinking it defines who I am, forgetting that I am a Daughter of the King! I become unaware that something new is right there in the wilderness, I forget that I'm even on the Roadway, or that there's a River of life for me to drink from!
Thankfully, God calls to me when this happens. He sends caring people to help me. He whispers in my ear verses like "will you not be aware of it?" He loves me. He does not allow the enemy to snatch me off of the Roadway, for there is a hedge around me, and His love for me endures forever. He fights for me and walks on the Roadway with me, behind me, and scouts the map out ahead of me.
Life is an incredible journey, it is for me. God's Roadway brings many interesting adventures, something new all the time! Say That Again, loving Father, You will bring something new, and You will make a Roadway through the wilderness, and Rivers in the desert.

The White Out

My children got into the white out. They painted it onto their faces, cute little mustaches. They were pretty impressed with their artwork. They posed for the camera. Everybody cheered. When it was time to clean the white out off, they weren't as impressed with their good work! My daughter was especially grumpy about all the soap and water that I needed to apply to her face in order to get off the white out! Scrub, scrub, scrub!
I have found that this is true for me as well. Sometimes I get into the "white out" and then I spend a significant amount of time working to scrub up my life. Scrub, scrub, scrub!
It's times like this that I need reminders: Jesus already did the scrubing!
Say That Again, Jesus, you've covered me, You've washed me, You've scrubed me!

The Patrol

My son was riding his scooter in the house and my daughter came running to tell me. "He's riding his scooter in the house, and he's not suppose to!"  My son came whipping around the corner just in time to inform both of us that nobody ever said that he shouldn't be riding his scooter in the house! I asked him how a scooter was different than a skate board, which has been banned from the house. He clearly said with an obvious tone, "a scooter has handle bars." And, around the corner he went! Skate boards have been banned from the house because they have a way of slipping out from under ones feet and ramming into the wall, consequently making marks and holes in the walls. Scooters, on the other hand, do have handle bars as my son pointed out, and probably won't ram into the wall. So, I decided that having a scooter in the house and watching it whip around the corner with my son on it, was okay. My daughter, on the other hand, still had the need to patrol the situation. I reminded her that she has had her bike in the house, which also has handle bars, but this didn't seem to appease her. She seemed to think that scooters were too much like skate boards and it should go.
I've been thinking about the scooter episode, and wondering about my own need to patrol others. Do I start patrol by voicing who is gifted in what? Or, do I decide who hears from God and who doesn't? Do I  get to be the one that patrols anything at all? As a leader at a Ministry do I tell people what to do, or motivate them to move in the direction God is calling them? Do I take their "handle bars" and lead them, or motivate them to call out to God and listen for His voice so they can follow Him on the path of light and we can be in unity together?
It is not my job to be the patrol voice! It's my job to love. I've got my own scooter, sometimes I'm on a skate board, ramming into the wall. Sometimes, I'm on a bike. Whatever I'm on, I've got to be listening to the voice of God. And, I've got to be riding on the level ground at the cross, with everybody else. When I'm rammed into the wall, I need someone to come along and help me. And, when I see my friends stuck in a hole, I'm going to come along and motivate them, pray for them, and see God rescue them!
Jesus, I want to surrender today to Your voice. I want You to patrol me, all of me. Lead me. Drive the scooter, Jesus, and keep me from ramming into the wall when I'm on a skate board. Use me in the lives of others. Say That Again, today, You are my Patrol.

The Party

Its been raining all week, and we've been praying that God would stop the rain just for a few hours, because we've been planning a party for our upcoming grandson. He's due to arrive in May. My husband read the forecast yesterday and it said chances of rain were 100 percent! I kept praying for sunshine. There were a lot of people coming to this party, and some of those people were men, they wanted to stand outside around the fire pit, and bond.  My son, the new daddy, didn't really want to join in on gift opening, and girlie games. So, we prayed.

The party was great, with all of my family there. My three older sons, their beautiful wives. My two energetic younger children, and my granddaughter.  God, kept back the rain clouds, just as He has done for every event we have done so far at our ministry house, Agape Celebration! 

My daughter in law did the finishing touches on cleaning up and just as we walked out the door, it started to rain! We both knew without a doubt, that God had given the OKAY to the weather. God does care about the intimate details of my life, even about the party for my son and daughter. He is involved and He knew how important it was to me and others that the weather was nice for us on the party day. I look at this one little thing and realize how big it is! With all the stress going on in life right now, it meant so much to me to have God's tenderness touch my day. It meant so much to have my entire family together, to be able to take pictures, and see them smile. It was a joy to see my children run through the yard and play, and even funny to find them on the roof! ( yes, they are energetic and full of mischief)

Jesus, You continue to show me how much You love me.  Yesterday, You showed up at the party, and that was pretty special. Thank you for Saying That Again to me!