Tag Archives: God

I could use a Kirby hug

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I think I can find an illustration or lesson in just about anything: a song, a story, an experience, even a video game.  Hey, they’re there if you’re lookin’!

My daughter, Krissy, and I just finished playing a Wii game called “Kirby: Return to Dream Land.”  It is cute and hilarious at the same time.  As Kirbys, little round guys who can fly as well as suck up enemies and then take on their powers/traits, you travel through all different sorts of lands fighting enemies, gathering stars and treasures.  Of course if you bump into the enemies or they shoot you somehow your health goes down and if it gets really low, your little Kirby starts panting and looking sad, like he can hardly go another step.

The fantastic thing about playing with a friend, or with my girl, is that Continue reading →

The living what I blog phenomenon

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I am having to read my own words and practice them today…the ones in that last post about being thankful and how it changes our perspective and attitude?

Almost without fail, I will blog about something and then very soon after have to practice what I preach, like my own words get bounced back at me, or like I’m being tested to see if I will live what I’m learning.

Lord, help me to keep a thankful heart today.  I can feel the enemy prowling around, like he always does, seeking a way to devour.  Set my eyes on you, be near me today.

Let all that I am praise the LORD; 
      with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 
 2 Let all that I am praise the LORD; 
      may I never forget the good things he does for me. 
 3 He forgives all my sins 
      and heals all my diseases. 
 4 He redeems me from death 
      and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 
 5 He fills my life with good things. 
      My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!  Psalm 103:1-5 NLT

Thankfulness = Trust?

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What has the power to turn a heart’s gaze to hope, peel away a complaining attitude, and open the door for peace?

Thankfulness.

Being thankful shows self-pity the door and gives contentment the best seat in the house.

Even in the most meager, terrible, or desperate circumstances we can choose to be thankful for something…even everything.

When I read the book “The Hiding Place” about Betsy and Corrie Ten Boom’s experience in a Nazi concentration camp during the holocaust, I was moved and humbled by Betsy’s constant thankfulness.  In the face of cruelty and horrendous day-to-day living conditions, she kept her face turned toward Jesus in hope.  She didn’t complain but instead kept thanking God for everything, much to the amazement of her sister Corrie, who admitted sometimes she wondered if her sister was from another planet.

One particular situation stands out in my memory:   Continue reading →

Totally Devoted

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Whenever I hear the word “devoted” I think of that song from the musical “Grease” when Sandy is singing about Danny and how much she can’t help loving him.  “Totally devoted to youuuu…” You know that one?

This morning while reading today’s devotional in Jesus Calling this line stood out to me:  “I go before you to open up the way, and I also walk alongside you. There could never be another companion as devoted as I am.”¹  (Jesus Calling reads as if Jesus is talking to the reader personally.)  I looked up the word devoted and found this definition: as a noun – “zealous or ardent in attachment, loyalty or affection” and as a verb – “to give up or concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc.” ²

I’ve heard a lot about people being devoted to something or someone, and to God, but hadn’t really thought of God being devoted to us, not in those certain terms.  It does say in the Bible that God is a “consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).  He is not jealous of us, He is jealous for us – for our attention.  The Word says that God is love (I John 4:8), that His faithfulness reaches to the skies (Psalm 36:5), that He is always true and keeps His word (Psalm 145:13).  I love the verse in Romans that says if God gave up His only Son for us, how would He not also give us every good thing?  That He is for us and nothing can separate us from His devoted love (Romans 8:31-35).

Why would God be devoted to humans?   Continue reading →

You’re the reason

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With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.  Romans 8:1-2 The Message

Guilt is described as a sense of remorse or responsibility for some offense or wrong-doing, whether real or imagined.   It plaques every one of us at one time or another and can become oppressive causing us to trudge instead of walk freely, to feel low and even worthless.  It’s like wearing a stack of lead aprons, the kind the dentist lays on top of you when you’re about to have an x-ray.

Where does it come from?   From other people?  After all they can be judgmental and have certain expectations of us, or we can value their opinions of us far too much.  Maybe sometimes.  From ourselves?  Each of us is probably our harshest critic and with help from our enemy, the devil, accuse ourselves ruthlessly.  From God?   Continue reading →

One thing at a time

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My mom used to tell me, when I was feeling overwhelmed by too many things to do, to just take one thing and start doing it.  Once I got going, my motivation kicked in, fear and stress bowed out and I was able to knock my way through my to do list bit by bit.  It was the looking at the whole pile of tasks that made me stop in my tracks, thinking it was all too much or wondering how I was going to accomplish everything by the time it needed to be done.

My daughter texted me the other night feeling much the same way about school work.  Her list of assignments/papers/tests was looming over her and had frozen her in one spot feeling inadequate for the job.  I tried to encourage her to do the same thing – “start with one thing, do one thing at a time and you’ll get through it!”

This morning in my devotional, there was a wonderful illustration of how the fog on the path ahead of us in life is actually one of God’s mercies, enabling us to just focus on the step in front of us, the day we are living in right now.  If God were to lift that fog and allow us to see the entire path, with all its twists and turns, mountaintop highs and desperate, painful or lonely lows, we would certainly be overwhelmed and our little feet would probably refuse to move at all.  We would stare with open mouths, knotted stomachs and pounding hearts and think “there’s no way I can do all that or get past all of that” or “How in the world will I know what to do or which way to go?”

Accept God’s merciful, loving gift of not having to see all of the future or all the path ahead of you, take his hand (because He’s right beside you) and take one step.  Then another, as He leads you.  You can live in this day with Him.  You can have peace in not having to figure out all of your future at once.  God will show you.  He will give you all you need to do one thing at a time.

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. – I Corinthians 13:12  The Message

Jesus is not your homeboy

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As I was washing dishes this evening I was thinking about respect or lack thereof and what causes someone to not show respect for someone or something else.  This thought process was stirred up after reading a review of a movie just out in theaters that makes jokes out of Jesus, the nativity and so forth.  What I read really bothered me and I thought to myself, “whoever wrote this movie doesn’t realize who they’re mocking.”

Somehow our culture has arrived at a distorted, watered-down image of Jesus.  Even among some people who say they follow Him, that He’s Lord of their life, seem to have not realized who it is they’re following.  I saw some kids at a Christian concert once wearing shirts that said, “Jesus is my homeboy.”  I’m sure whoever made the shirts had harmless intentions, just being funny, but it seems way too familiar a title for Him.

The relationship we can have with God is such a mystery and paradox.  He is Creator, all-powerful, all-knowing, present everywhere, the beginning and the end, King of kings, Ruler of everything, Holy, Just, True.  At the same time He chooses to be Father, Counselor, Deliverer, Guide, and even Friend to us when we put our faith in Him.  How does that work?  It boggles my mind!

All of this brings me to a conclusion that lack of respect for God, for Jesus, comes from Continue reading →

Sometimes the grass is greener in the past

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When Kimmi first went to college, the school advised the students to stay on campus once classes started for at least six weeks before going home for a visit.  The purpose behind that recommendation is that it helps them engage with the other students and the college community as well as cutting ties with home a bit (getting used to being away from home).  I think it’s a great idea and though it was a hard adjustment at first (probably harder for me than for her), it did help Kimmi step into the college phase of her life more on her own.  She began “leaving” the phase of life she had with us at home – an important, necessary step to growing up.

When first away at school it might be easy for kids to keep wanting to go home and be in the familiar, comfortable situation they just came from.  Looking back, the grass might seem greener at home in the past where their high school friends lived, where they were comfortable in a home church and so on.  If they’ll turn around and look forward, however, step out and give it time, they find that independence, new friendships, experiences, possibilities and more can become their new “normal” and be pretty exciting.   They can change and grow, becoming more and more of who they are meant to be.  The world opens up in new ways that they wouldn’t have known if they went back and stayed at home.

I realize that sometimes when I look back the grass looks greener in the past.  This past weekend we went “home” to Indiana to attend our college homecoming weekend, see our college girls, and attend church where we did when we lived there.  We saw many old friends, enjoyed beautiful sunny fall weather, were blessed by a moving, encouraging worship service at church, and spent some really good quality time with our daughters.

John and I both agreed today that a little part of ourselves felt like it would be nice to go back there to stay.  It was comfortable there for us in many ways and we have lots of dear friends there.  We fit in and knew our place.  We have a lot of history there, too, all the way back to before we got married so of course it feels like home.

If I am honest when I look back though, Continue reading →

Pastor Appreciation

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October is typically observed as “Pastor Appreciation Month” in churches across the country, so I thought I’d share a few words of appreciation to the pastors that have made a difference in my life. Continue reading →

He was there

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I got my diagnosis on my mom’s birthday.  That just doesn’t seem right does it?  My surgery was that Friday, only five days later.  What a whirlwind week it was.  My parents dropped everything and drove to St. Louis to be with us, even though my dad was a pastor with a busy schedule.  I don’t remember how many days I had to stay in the hospital, I think only two.  I just remember with clarity an early morning blood draw to check my white cell count to see if I could go home.

Shortly after the lab tech left the room, my dad walked in.  He was carrying his garment bag and told me he was about to go back home but wanted to come see me first.  While he was with me, my surgeon, Dr. Billy, came in to tell me that my levels were low and I was going to have to stay longer in the hospital.  My heart sunk into a fearful thought that there might be more cancer.  Then Dr. Billy noticed they had drawn blood out of the arm that had an IV and it had diluted the blood sample.  He had them come back in and draw from my other arm, it was okay, and I was able to go home!

It may not sound like a big deal, but it helped so much that my dad was there.  I didn’t have to be alone through that brief unsettling moment.  He was thinking of me that morning and wanted me to know.  He was there because he loves me.  What did I do to get my dad to love me? Continue reading →