Soaking

Once again I am amazed at how God weaves together the events of our lives. Looking at each incident separately, they are just events that fill our day-to-day lives. But looking at them as a whole - the picture is full of vibrant color, purpose and joy!

Through a business venture in the summer of 2005, I met Janet - a writer/publisher/fellow business owner. We became friends and I started writing for her online magazine, Reflections ( www.Reflections-Magazine.com ).

Shortly thereafter, she became my writing coach through her online courses. Even though I had already published my first novel, I knew I had much to learn, especially about building a network of readers and marketing my work.

Recently, one of the writing assignments suggested joining online groups - social networking sites. One such site I found centered around pastor's wives. What a joy it has been to hear from pastor's wives and missionary wives around the country and the world. It has become a daily staple of encouragement and prayer for me.

But back to God's loom! He does all things well. I have been struggling with a new writing project for Janet- a digital devotional book which will be published in March. The title is Basking in the Son Room and it is geared toward those who need to take a spiritual step back from the stress of the world to regroup / heal/ and rejuvenate by spending intimate and intense time with Him.

I have a good outline and know what I want to write about, but it is a struggle getting the words down on paper. Last night one of the gals from the pastor's wives network suggested a beautiful web site at www.soaking.net. Curious, I visited and found comfort, rest and peace in the music of the site. It is truly music to "soak" your soul while praying.

I've been so immersed in writing about this type of soaking, I had forgotten to close my eyes and soak in His presence - the very essence of the project! Because of my "Martha" nature, I often get caught up in doing, rather than being. I'm so thankful He intertwines the threads of my life with others to accomplish His purposes - even in my mundane everyday life!

Called or Qualified?

"God doesn't call the qualified...He qualifies the called." (Author unknown - found circulating on the web)

I love this quote - it is a reminder that we all start out the same - tiny and naked! But it's what we allow God to do with our lives that makes the difference.

As we walk with God, He brings people, experiences and advice (from His word and from other sources) across our path to mentor us, guide and instruct us. Life is a great big Home-school classroom!

The things we learn from life prepares us to take yet another step toward what He envisions us to be. Talk about a loving Father! He knows our potential and never ceases to work to help us develop it, painstaking inch by inch - sometimes with us kicking and screaming the whole way.

The older I get, the more I recognize His work in my life to qualify me for the things God has planned. As a loving Father, He sent me off to college, even when my family said it was impossible. Like a loving Father, He provided a job as a proofreader and later as a writer at small weekly papers, knowing I'd someday need those skills.

He provided opportunities to develop people skills, writing and research skills. He encouraged and proved to me "you can do it" when I kept saying, "I can't." And He hasn't stopped yet - doors are still opening that I hesitate to walk through, because I feel inadequate. Yet, He takes me step by step in the direction of those doors until I can and do step through.

I haven't always enjoyed the experiences He has allowed - the pain and shame of abuse, the pain of the recovery process, embarrassment, pain, grief - those experiences some would consider negatives. Yet, even those things have worked good in my life.

Because each of us are unique, He has used unique experiences in each of us - real one-on-one instruction to move us to where we need to be. Only God can do that, working to qualify each of us for our one-of-a-kind position in His kingdom. Wow!

He's back...Hurricane Avery Strikes Again

My son and his wife visited again this weekend. Actually, we think Dave has found a job in a nearby community so they'll be moving here from upstate NY soon.

It's a good thing since I haven't had the opportunity to see my 2 year old grandson very much. Now I'll be able to do the Grandma things like babysit, drag my photo album everywhere and spoil the little guy!

Of course, while Dave and Julie were here, they left Avery with me for about an hour in order to go to our local WalMart for a few groceries and in that one hour, he dumped my birdseed on the floor, got into my daily journal and scribbled on a few pages and other little things - all while I tried to prepare supper.

Whew! needless to say, I was ecstatic when the kids returned. But to keep things in perspective, I reminded myself that he's not quite 2 years old yet and I had missed out on so much of his growing up so far because of the distance separating us. I'd much rather have him close by, than to miss watching him grow!

So much of our lives are about perspectives. If we look at things through a black cloud, everything looks dark and dingy. We may even become depressed and moody. But when we are able to look at things through the Spirit's eyes, things look totally different - often different than we ever expected. He sees things clearly - as they really are, not distorted by emotional filters or tunnel vision.

Things that aggravate and annoy us, may be "gifts" in disguise that draw us closer to our Heavenly Father. It's hard to see that while in the middle of struggles, but if we can slip on His lenses even for just a moment and see the situation from His perspective, it becomes easier to bear. Sometimes we just have to trust that God hasn't abandoned us and is working all things together for our good - a real toughie.

I may not like the annoyances of life or the hard things I have to go through, but I love my Heavenly Father. No matter what happens in life, I'd much rather have Him around, close to me, than to be far away from Him!

A Bouquet for Jesus

It's difficult to be in the public eye. I've always been the type of person who would rather be invisible, working behind the scenes, but God had other plans.

As a pastor's wife, I must frequently organize programs, sing, speak and a host of other public things. At one point I worked as a news editor for a small town weekly paper and had to be "out there" and accessible. And now as a writer, I am once again "visible."

One of the things I've struggled with over the years is how to accept accolades and compliments that come to the "visible" people.

Some suggest a self-effacing approach - "Give the glory to God." The trouble with this is it may drive the pride under the surface until we become proud of how we always give the glory to Jesus.

One Christian psychologist suggested merely smiling and replying, "Thank you," when complimented. The trouble there is it's too easy to become proud of our accomplishments and begin to feel like we've done it.

The best way I've found to deal with this was shared by Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Holocaust survivor who later became an author. She suggested treating each compliment like a beautiful, fragrant rose. As it's handed to you, you may sniff it's fragrance and admire its beauty. Then she suggested handing the rose to the Lord, thanking Him for allowing you to share in it's beauty.

Thanks. Lord for roses along the way!

Breaking the Worry Syndrome

"Just give it to the Lord."

Huh? You expect me to give up my worry security blanket? What would I do if I couldn't worry a little?

It's almost as though by worrying I can make things happen or prevent them. It becomes an effort on my part to control the world around me rather than trusting God to take care of the situations. I try to do His job for Him because I somehow believe He can't do it alone.

The first step in relinquishing "control," even if it's only control in my own mind, is to trust. Since I'm a visual learner, I like to picture Jesus standing before me and imagine myself handing my problems, burdens and issues to Him.

The compassion and love in His eyes as He takes each one , promising to deal with it in His own way and time, soothes my discomfort. Then when I find myself worrying again, fretting because He hasn't done anything yet, I try to imagine that I've gone to Him and demanded them back.

When I use visual imagery it really helps me to see my lack of trust and willfulness in trying to handle my own problems. Understanding that I've been brazen enough to demand my burdens back helps me to apologize and break the cycle of worry.

Little by little He's working with me to change the way I handle my problems - my ways of coping with the world. He loves me enough that He will keep working with me. As one writer put it, His love is so deep he cannot stand a spot or wrinkle in His beloved. He is willing to work patiently with us until we become perfect in Him.

Thank You Lord for your patience, even when I'm not!

Walking in their sandals...

Several years ago when I began writing more seriously, I made an important investment - a Bible!

No, not just any Bible - this one is a chronological Bible called The Life and Times Historical Reference Bible. It has increased my understanding of scripture immensely as I read through it day by day.

All of the chapters of Scripture are written in the chronological order in which they happened. It's a little disjointed, reading several Bible books at once when their content overlaps like Kings, Chronicles and the major and minor prophets; but it really helps put the whole Bible in perspective. I'm no longer reading individual books, but a more complete history, including maps and time lines.

Another neat feature of this Bible is the numerous cultural references which describe the various customs of the day, both in Israel and surrounding ethnic groups. References to customs like marriage, birth and even how they fought their battles are interspersed close by Bible passages that mention those issues.

There is an old saying that we shouldn't judge another until we have walked a mile in their moccasins . I think that's true for God's word too. In order to understand all of what God is saying to us today, we must be willing to walk in the sandals of those who walked before us - to see things from their perspective. It certainly does give richer hues and texture to the verbal pictures painted in God's word!

Dynamite in Action!

The Bible promises us the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives - especially to help us witness, but it still amazes me whenever I sense Him at work in my own life! Perhaps it's because I still have a lingering sense of inadequacy - a residual effect from the issues of the past.

Last week, I accepted an invitation to write a devotional book from my publisher and friend. The book is to be one of a series geared toward people who want to spend an intensive week drawing closer to God - 6 days of devotions, morning, noon and evening. One reason I hesitated to come on board with the project was that it must be completed by early March - only 5 weeks away.

Yet, the opportunity was too important to turn down and I sensed the Spirit urging me to accept this assignment as I prayed about it. True to His promises, He even gave me the title and idea for the book.

The next step was to create the outline and define the focus of the book. Once again, following intensive prayer over the past few days, the Spirit has come alongside as I wrestled with the outline. It went out in my morning e-mails today.

There is much to do over the next few weeks as this labor of the Spirit and love grows to its completion. I believe it will be a tremendous blessing to me as the writer - even more than to the future readers as I labor alongside the Spirit to write His words.

I am thankful for His awesome power and His promise to come alongside as an advocate and adviser to help in this project. Though I've experienced the power of the Spirit numerous times before, this is a new experience for me - learning to rely on Him daily for the words.