What If.....

On March 22, 2011 I copied the following in my journal.  Unfortunately I didn't note who had written it or from what book I copied it.  These words came to me in a very critical time of my life and they still speak to me today.

"WHAT IF this isn't the end but a new beginning?

WHAT IF the answer to my prayer is just over the next hill?

WHAT IF this is necessary in order for me to be prepared for the next important chapter in my life?

WHAT IF God knows exactly what I need at this particular time?

WHAT IF God is speaking to me through means I would not have chosen for a blessing I cannot see?

WHAT DOES this experience make possible?

WHAT WILL I be telling my grandchildren that I learned was so valuable in this season of my life?"

When God Speaks, Will I Listen?

I’m an only child who grew up in a very sheltered and protected environment. I accepted Christ at the age of 10......I attended a Christian school from the 5th grade through graduation from high school and then went on to a Christian College.

I lived a normal life....married a guy who would soon become a pastor, had children, taught Sunday School , directed the youth choir, played the piano, moved to Fairbanks, raised teenagers, retired from the Railroad, became a grandmother and still play the piano. Life didn’t send me many curves, but when it did I was almost blown away. Without going into lots of details the last four years of my life taught me a new dependance on the Word and prayer. I’m here to tell you that although I’ve failed over and over again, God is faithful, loving and attentive to the cries of his children. I have a journal full of promises and encouragement that God has given me along the way to prove His faithfulness.

I want to fast forward to several weeks before my Dad died. The 23rd Psalm was so familiar to me that I guess I usually just skimmed over it, but one day the 6th verse became alive and grabbed my attention with such force. It spoke such hope to me....not only for me but for my Dad. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” I began praying that over my Dad most every day after that knowing that goodness and mercy had already followed him his 91 years. After he died, I then saw the fulfillment at the end of that verse. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Grandpa is proof of that.

Around the same time that Psa 23:6 spoke so forcefully to me I heard or felt another message, but it wasn’t as joyful. There were only 3 words, but they were spoken very distinctly into my spirit. Those words were "wash my feet" and I knew it applied to me and my Dad. I ignored them, because I didn't want to get a tub of water out and wash my Dad's feet. However, my refusal to listen didn't make the words go away. They would pop in my mind at odd and crazy times. There was no getting away from it. I heard other people say it, I read it....it was everywhere.

Two days before he died I took him to the doctor because he had some labored breathing and his ankles were swollen. The nurse told me the doctor would probably have Dad take off his shoes and socks. After the nurse left, I told Dad that the doctor may want to see his feet and ankles. He immediately said, but my feet are very scaly because it's hard for me to get down and wash them. The words "wash my feet" screamed in my head again and I knew I had to wash his feet. Fortunately the doctor didn't have him take his shoes and socks off....and Grandpa was spared any embarrassment he might have had. He had a follow up appt the following Thursday. I surrendered and told the Lord I would wash Grandpa's feet before that appt. You're now thinking, she washed his feet and all was well. However, I never washed his feet. I did surrender my "I don't want to wash his feet" to I'll wash his feet on Wed morning. However, in the early morning hours on Wednesday he died in his sleep and I never washed his feet. I wish I had, but the Lord has given me tremendous peace over that because I know I got my heart right BEFORE Grandpa died.

The story doesn’t end there.....

On the plane between Seattle and Anchorage, after 2 weeks of rest and relaxation in San Diego, I was reading a book* by David Jeremiah that was given to us at the Shadow Mountain church we attended in San Diego. On page 45, David Jeremiah says, “In Jesus’ day, people wore sandals and had dusty feet. That’s why it was a matter of common courtesy and hospitality for a host to provide a servant to wash the feet of guests as they entered a home.” Oh no.....there it was again......”wash my feet.” I thought I was past that. Jeremiah went on to say, “since most people don’t wear sandals or walk on dusty streets today, that custom is no longer practiced, but it still serves as a worthy metaphor for us.”

I don’t know where God’s call to “serve” will lead me, but I feel like He’s teaching me “as the body without the spirit is dead (this took on deeper meaning as I saw my Dad's body without the spirit), so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26

*Signs of Life

Always Read the Back of the Card

I received a "Thinking of You" card in the mail recently from a friend. After I read the card and the personal hand written note, I flipped the card over to look at the back. I always like to see who printed the card (i.e. Hallmark, American Greetings). This particular card was a Guideposts Greetings card and a short article by Gina Bridgeman was included on the back of this card. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it with you. Thank you Sharon Weaver for sending the card and thank you Gina Bridgeman for your thoughts and insights. Just look what I would have missed if I had not looked at the back of the card.

Someone Cares

"I read recently that by the time you reach age seventy-five you might easily have slept the equivalent of twenty-five years of your life. I think I've already spent as least that much time watching. Last week I watched my son Ross play trombone in a jazz band concert, my daughter Maria dance in a recital and my husband Paul's barbershop quartet in concert. Soon, I'll begin the springtime rite of sitting on hard metal bleachers watching countless hours of high school baseball.

I was telling my mom that maybe I should be doing more and watching less when she laid the truth on me in her reliably sensible way. 'We can't all be stars,' she said. 'Somebody has to watch, or it would take all the fun out of performing.' Then I remembered how our daughter rushed up to us after last year's school musical. 'Did you see my dance?' she wanted to know. The fact that Mom and Dad had seen her seemed as important as the dance itself.

My mom also pointed out that there's more to my role than simply watching: Somebody has to drive to rehearsals, get the piano tuned and volunteer to bring the post-game snack. None of that may be glamorous, but I've learned that the performance - or whatever form that 'starring role' takes - couldn't happen without the supporting players. We watchers play an important role in the lives of others, who need to know that someone is cheering especially for them."

Gina Bridgeman

Guideposts Greetings

0925831

Sun Stand Still (Steven Furtick)

I just finished reading the book "Sun Stand Still" (What happens when you dare to ask God for the impossible)," by Steven Furtick. Wow....reading this book will change your life. Here's some things I marked in my book.....

• Extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience.
• If God lives in you, you have the potential for audacious faith.
• Audacious faith does not eliminate doubt and fear. It eclipses their power one decision at a time.
• The great things God will do through you are going to grow in the soil of persistence, prayer, obedience, and sacrifice.
• Before God can do an impossible work in your world, you need to let him do a deep work in your heart.
• God has to work in us before he can work through us.
• Our view of God is the most important thing about us.
• Hearing the Word initiates faith. Speaking the Word activates faith. Doing the Word demonstrates faith.
• To really pray with power and to trust Jesus radically, you need to consume as much of God's Word as you possibly can. Increase your exposure to teaching and preaching about Jesus. Prioritize the presence of God in your daily life.
• Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17
• The most powerful sin in your life is the one you haven't confessed yet.
• Sun Stand Still prayers aren't about changing God's mind. They're about changing your heart, activating your faith, and developing your confidence in God's Word and character.
• Audacious prayer must be tethered to practical obedience.
• If you're going to ask God to bless your children, then spend time with them affirming their gifts and shepherding their hearts.
• Every aspiration you have in prayer needs an accompanying action.
• You do the natural. Trust God for the super.
• Between the promise and the payoff, there's always a process. The process is invaluable. The process is a time of strengthening. The process is the place where you lay down your pride and learn to rely totally on God. Most importantly, the process is the way we grow to know God.
• God's people are the change the world is waiting for. So seize the vision. Activate audacious faith. Make your move.
• Five steps to a Sun Stand Still Prayer:

1. Activate your audacious faith. Reject passivity and fear.
2. Approach God with boldness.
3. Ask specifically for what is humanly impossible.
4. Advance toward the answer. Joshua didn't just pray for a victory in battle. He marched all night so that he would be in a position to defeat the enemy when God answered his prayer.
5. Give God all the glory.

www.sunstandstill.org

www.elevationchurch.org

It's Only the Weather

South African adventurer and explorer, Alex Harris, and his partner battled horrible storms which made their trek in Antarctica almost unbearable. After two weeks of fighting fierce gale force winds in the cold and snow Harris came to a realization. He’d been daily asking God to change the weather so they could make more progress; so the going wouldn’t be so hard but it eventually dawned on him that what they were experiencing was actually NORMAL weather for Antarctica. He then began to pray, “Lord, …whatever the weather’s gonna be that’s what the weather is, but change my heart. Let me be able to endure it. Gimme the faith, gimme the strength, gimme the endurance to see through this bad patch.” He realized God was speaking to him to teach him not to focus his prayers so much on his circumstances but to realize that God wanted to speak to him in the middle of his circumstances.

After reading about Harris's experience, the Holy Spirit turned on the light for me. I had never thought of it like that, but I had been doing the same thing - asking God to change the weather (circumstances) in my life. So now on my office wall are the words "it's only the weather." This serves as a constant reminder to me that when I'm in the middle of a, seemingly, relentless storm, God is speaking: "It's only the weather....I'm right here with you."

(Thanks to Geoff for making the stick on words for me and to Nicole for the idea!!)

30-Day-Gratitude-Challenge

Today is day 30 of my “30-Day-Gratitude-Journal Challenge*.” It’s been a great month of learning to be intentionally grateful every day. Here’s some things I’ve learned and of which I’ve been reminded.

• Ungrateful people are much like a container that has a hole in it leaking out every blessing that’s been poured in.
• Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.
• Recognize (be on the lookout for blessings) and express appreciation (be intentional) to God and others.
• If tomorrow’s supply depended on today’s thanksgiving, how much would I have tomorrow?
• Gratitude is the overflow of a humble heart.
• The world says “protect what you have,” but God says “be generous.”
• Thank God for invisible blessings:
• miles driven without a flat tire
• diseases we don’t have
• Be thankful for blessings we take for granted (toothbrushes, glasses, soap, etc.)
• Look above your circumstances, look above your fears and see what God is doing in the midst of them. Ask God to show you your blessings.
• Two questions Nancy DeMoss asks anyone struggling with chronic discouragement or depression.
• Are you memorizing scripture?
• Are you singing to the Lord?
• Singing hymns (or just reading the words) are a good resource for encouragement and thanksgiving.
• Choose gratitude over bitterness.
• The restorative power of a grateful heart and tongue is more potent than we can imagine.
• Create a gratitude account, listing individuals you owe a debt of thanks. Then keep your account paid up by thanking those people.
• Anything that makes me need God is (ultimately, in the truest sense) a blessing.
• Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, should equal unbridled gratitude.
• When we give out of gratitude to God, we cause gratitude to well up in others’ hearts.
• Give thanks in all circumstances. 1 Thess. 5:18
• Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4
• I will extol the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1

Lord, I want to have a grateful heart, but forgive me for all my murmuring and complaining. Open my eyes to the positive things in my life and cultivate a thankful heart in me.

*Choosing Gratitude - Your Journey to Joy, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Spring Concerts and Risers

This week Dave & I went to two spring concerts at Woodriver School where my grandsons attend. It's also the same school that our two children attended.

Andrew (5th grade) did a great job on the bass guitar with the orchestra. That reminds me that I started taking piano lessons when I was in the 5th grade.

Kaiden (2nd grade) sang and did lots of cool motions in the choir (picture attached). The choir used risers and Kaiden stood on the top row. I never see a set of risers that my mind doesn't go back to a time forty-five years ago.....

I was attending Lee College in Cleveland, TN and singing with the Lee College Choir. There were 120 choir members and we were performing a big number - the Hallelujah Chorus, if I recall correctly. I can't remember where we were performing but we were all crunched together on risers and I was standing on the top level. About half way through the song the riser collapsed and down we all went. I remember the screams of surprise as the music and singing came to an abrupt stop. Fortunately no one was hurt. The risers were pushed aside, all the choir members reassembled on level ground and we finished the song. All those thoughts were running through my head as I watched Kaiden and listened to the second graders sing. Fortunately, their risers stood firm.