A Word From Oswald

In my journal today I read these words from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest and I believe someone else needs these words as desperately as I do. I pray it encourages you today as it did me.

"And the parched ground shall become a pool." Isaiah 35: 7

"God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience. Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry. We are always in such a frantic hurry. In the light of the glory of the vision we go forth to do things, but the vision is not real in us yet; and God has to take us into the valley, and put us through fire and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the place where He can trust us with the veritable reality. Ever since we had the vision God has been at work, getting us into the shape of the ideal, and over and over again we escape from His hand and try to batter ourselves into our own shape.

The vision is not a castle in the air, but a vision of what God wants you to be. Let Him put you on His wheel and whirl you as He likes, and as sure as God is God and you are you, you will turn out exactly in accordance with the vision. Don't lose heart in the process. If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you."

Get on the wheel of God's love today. You are in no safer place than His hands. Here's to the vision!!!

DECKED - or hemmed in

Our deck is completed and many of you had asked me after my earlier pictures if we were going to put a railing around it. As you can see it is safely enclosed now. It was not safe without a railing and because for many weeks it was un-railed and unsafe, we were very careful about walking on it - staying very far away from the edge in case we accidentally overstepped and fell a nasty 9+ feet to the ground!

Now that the rail is safely installed, we are free to walk, jump, run, dance or any other fun shenanigan we choose to do. It very much reminds me of what the psalmist was trying to explain to us in Psalm 139: 5-6: "Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it."

The safety net that God has placed around the believer is meant to give us freedom - not to imprison us. It is where we are free to experience the fullness of life while living in the safety of His love.

It is not only a wonderful place to be but also such a 'high' thought that we have trouble wrapping our minds around it. Sometimes life doesn't feel or look safe. Even for a believer. There is a lot to be worried about and a lot to cause us to want to hang back and to walk cautiously - just like when my railing had not yet been installed.

God wants His word to penetrate our hearts in order that we live with bold abandon believing Him to have us enclosed in His protective right hand. As we begin a new week may we walk, dance, jump and run fully aware that we are safe to proclaim "He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord." Psalm 40: 2-3

These Shoes are Made for Walking

"Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you just as I spoke to Moses." Joshua 1: 2-3

I think there are several things in this passage of scripture to stimulate us to move forward in our walk with the Lord.


1. The past was over. Moses, the great deliverer of Israel was gone. The children of Israel had a time of intense mourning. They probably had some real insecurity about their future but God's word to them was "arise and cross." There is no final chapter in the kingdom of God. There is an ever moving forward march. Yes, there may be a time for mourning...a time for rest....a time to reexamine....but it's not over as long as you're living and breathing.


2. Even though there was still a fight to be fought, a land to be conquered - God's word was PRESENT TENSE. God was giving them this land. Final word. No arguments. No need to fret.


3. God told Joshua that everywhere he set his foot - the land would be his. That's where I want to sit for a spell.

Don't you wish - sitting on this side of history and reading these verses today - that we could go back in time and say, "don't stop walking Joshua! Walk till you drop! Take it all, brother!" That's what I would say. Don't be chintzy. Walk! Walk! Walk!

I know that had I been Joshua, I would have probably gotten tired, wondered how much was enough and perhaps even 'settled' for a smaller portion just to be done. But Oh! looking back, I want to tell Joshua to go for it.

I wonder if that is what the great cloud of witnesses from Hebrews is calling to you and to me. "Go for it. Don't settle. Take it all." Sometimes the older we get the more settled we become. Life has taken on familiarity and a youth-oriented culture moves so much faster that it's easy to take the (s)low road. But somehow reading these passages, I want to go farther and reach higher. I hope you do too.

Life is meant to be relished. Life is meant to be lived fully and freely because we have the promise of Jesus - "In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

I believe our lives will be much more honoring to God if we spend them walking further than trying to live safe. My prayer today is that we will all - myself especially - be radically stretched to the glory of God.

Start walking!!!

Deck Building

Billy and I decided to build a deck onto our house to take advantage of the lake view behind us and add a little outdoor living space to our home. We drew up some plans, hired a carpenter and the deck is now officially 'decked.' We wanted to make sure we made it 'big' enough and so we measured and walked around and yet we didn't quite 'envision' what it would REALLY look like. It's BIG - bigger than we imagined.

I think life is a lot like that. We imagine a lot of things that we think would make our lives better or happier. We think we know what we're doing or pursuing yet our minds cannot really wrap around the scope of what is not presently there. Like my deck. When we walked around on the ground floor trying to measure off how big we wanted it and even after we put feet and inches to it, we still couldn't 'see' it because it wasn't there yet.

God has a plan for our lives according to Jeremiah 29:11. He says that plan is abundantly more than we could imagine according to 1 Cor. 2: 9. In the spirit world our lives have more purpose and more power than we can imagine. We can't see it. We can't see how our circumstances - both the good and the bad - have the potential to reflect God's glory. We have no idea how our seemingly inconsequential choices impact the kingdom. We can't understand how our pain and our suffering can possibly have anything to do with God's purposes when He can do anything.

This past Sunday we were studying the period after the resurrection and shaking our heads at how the disciples did not believe Jesus' resurrection even after He had told them He would be crucified and He would rise from the dead. They said - "not till we see Him for ourselves." And so He obliged but with an admonition - "Greater are those who believe and do not see."

I've always found myself feeling smug when I read that.....because hey, that's me! But the veil lifted for a few minutes in class that morning as I realized how little I believe Him when it comes to living out this life. He has given us immeasurable promises about the life we live and the life to come and yet, I mourn my losses and lament my shortcomings. I trust Him for what I see and hang on with my little faith while never daring to believe the great things He is accomplishing in the world I can't yet see.

I hope you 'get' that. He told them He wouldn't stay dead and it was too farfetched for them to grasp with their limited minds. He told us we are deeply loved, filled with His spirit, have a heavenly home, a glorious inheritance and abundant life and yet we LIVE such mundane lives. Continually comparing ourselves to others, worrying about what hasn't happened, harping on what has and walking down our own Emmaeus roads bemoaning how life has not turned out the way we had envisioned it. Just like those disciples, Jesus is walking along beside us saying, "There is more than you are seeing. There is more than you are experiencing. There is more than what you believe to be your reality." Perhaps He is even saying, "YOU are more than you are seeing. YOU are more than your experiences. YOU are more than your reality."

I now walk on an unfinished deck that is real...and big. I am anticipating many hours of enjoyment with my family on it. But more importantly, I stand on the promises of a God who cannot lie and never fails. I can't see it and even the scriptures say my mind can't grasp it. My life too is unfinished but I know this......I want to go out believing Him for a lot more than I've given Him credit for in the past. "Behold, He is making all things new!" I am anticipating that mindset will bring abundant living.

"I believe. Help my unbelief."

The Rest of the Story

My niece insisted that I tell you how the snake story played out. I'm a sucker for my kids so here goes. I told you that I did my part to ensure a 'snakeless' night. I cranked the cold air down, put my slippers up high and the light switch in easy reach. I prayed and asked the Lord to leave the snake out and to let me NOT have to go to the bathroom all night so I wouldn't have to get up. Well....within the hour - wouldn't you know it? I had to go. I turned on the light, put my slippers on IN the bed and slowly made my way across the room turning on lights all along the way.

As I sat on the commode with my feet UP, I said, "Lord, I'm so disappointed in you." Some of you are laughing and some of you are aghast but hey! in the middle of the night with a snake hanging around, the room at 50 degrees and no man around to be my hero, I didn't think it was too much to ask of My Beloved who can do all things and with whom nothing is impossible. Besides, He knew what I was thinking. Personally, I think He was laughing (because He already knew the snake wouldn't come in all night).

Ever been there? Have you asked the Lord for something and He didn't come through for you?
Prayed for a beloved child only to have them.....rebel, die, make bad choices?
Prayed for a job and lost out?
Prayed for a job and got laid off/fired/overlooked?
Prayed for health and got worse?
Prayed for a relationship and it ended?

I don't think one of us can't relate to some of the above. I have thought about this so many times since my own son went to heaven. My disappointment did not stem so much from Justin's death as the certainty in my heart that my God could do all things and He allowed this to happen. Disappointment with God is a cold, hard blow to the trusting child.

Back to the snake. God knew what I did not. He didn't have to answer the bathroom prayer because He answered the bigger one - the snake didn't come into my room. I just didn't know it. Could the same be true about my Justin? He didn't answer the safety prayer because He answered the bigger one - that Justin would love and serve God with all His heart? What about you? Did He answer your bigger prayer and you just haven't seen it yet?

Disappointment with God is a reality for those of us who live in this world and seek the one above. It would behoove us to admit our disappointments and allow the God who loves us completely - though we see through a mirror dimly - to bring us to a greater place of trust. I for one will never forget the lessons of the snake.

Wait on God beloved. He will answer in His timing. He will not disappoint. His answers may - but He will not. While He allows your circumstance, He is working out your eternity. Just like that long night worrying about a snake - morning came and showed me that my fears were groundless. So too one day this long night will give way to dawn and we too with unveiled eyes will behold the glory of what He has been working out for our good.

On Retreat, Women, Snakes and God

I just returned from a three day retreat at beautiful Pine Cove in Tyler. The leadership team from the church had prayed and planned for many months and yet their numbers were down. Blame the economy, the time of year or the speaker but nonetheless they continued to pray and plan for those who did come.

Three day retreats are rare and wonderful. No one has the time for them anymore and yet something sacred happens the second night after the women have had the time to really rest in God and His word and take the time to get to know one another spiritually. This retreat was no different. Despite...or maybe perhaps because of their small number these ladies came prepared. From the first night they grasped hold of the concepts that God had for them and planted them down deep in their hearts.

On the second night the leadership team had a communion and foot washing service. They warned us ahead of time in case we were not comfortable and gave us an out. But it was a moving, beautiful and sacred moment. As we quietly sat soaking in the love of God for each of us and the love that outflowed onto our sisters one of the ladies came back in from a quick run to her cabin and told us a large snake was outside my cabin door trying to get in. It was like a dash of cold water but it was also a reminder of where God is doing a work there is an enemy prowling around.

The lady who discovered the snake said she knew this was the time of year that snakes come out and are aggressive so she had been on the lookout all weekend. Had she not been, she would have stepped right on him. Since it was by my cabin that he was discovered, I turned my air conditioner to freezer level, cranked the ceiling fan to high, put my slippers on the bedside table, got the quilts off the extra beds and put them on mine and prayed for the snake to stay out and for me to not have to get up all night to go to the bathroom. Snakes don't like cold and I wanted to make sure he wouldn't like my room AT ALL.

Heads up!!! There is an enemy prowling around. He waits till the dark to slither out and seeks for a crack to sneak in. We need to be alert to his ways and watch for where he tries to gain entrance. Once alerted we need to do whatever we need to do to keep him OUT - ie reading God's word, fellowshipping with like-minded believers, memorizing key scriptures, speaking the truth in love, etc. You see, he doesn't like a mind fixed on God. He doesn't want us surrounded by believers. He wants us alone and vulnerable so he can attack us, frighten us with his lies and deceive us.

I read a pithy little saying that I will close with:

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the ground in the morning the enemy says, "Oh crude, she's up!"

May The Words of My Mouth

Having grown up in church, experiencing the ups and downs of church life and being on the hunt for a new church home in our new town, I discovered something really fascinating about myself this morning. I have been traveling a lot with Billy lately and we are with a lot of people who also love the Lord and are in the same life situations that we are in so the talk often turns to churches and ministry. As I was thinking about that this morning I realized that we always talk about CHURCH. That topic encompasses denominations, practices, doctrine, the peculiarities of people of different faiths - including our own - and basically our own desires in a church. But this is what hit me - we never talk about GOD. Church. Denomination. Practice. Religion. Personal preference (which of course includes personal grievances).

It was an epiphany for me. What were we thinking? GULP - what was I thinking?

Church is a bunch of people. Plural. Each one with their own baggage. One may have a duffel bag of church legalism. One may hold a carry-on of charismatic display. Another a make-up case of "put on a pretty face." Still another a briefcase of criticism from a background of pain. Regardless - whenever our focus is the church it's no wonder the conversation turns petty.

I had a wonderful ten years in a church that left me carrying a trunk of comparison. I wanted every church to measure up to that one. Just as stupid!! Because I found myself highlighting the church/people yet again.

I follow the blog of a little baby that has a faulty pathway in his heart that is causing his heart rate to beat at a speed that is dangerous to his life. The doctors are using a laser to try and destroy the bad pathway so his electrical impulses are forced to use the one that is healthy. I asked the Lord to send a coal from the altar this morning to touch my lips. To purge me of talk about the church and to redirect my speech to HIM.

Wouldn't that be radical if we all forced ourselves away from church talk to God talk? To espouse Him and His radical ways - which by the way, includes His over-the-top love for us! To speak of grace that covers our sin - every day. To remind one another that He sees us not as we are but as we will be. To bring up short fears and temptations. To bring to the light the things the enemy shrouds with shadow.

I hope you will join me in redirecting your speech. What a worthy aspiration - to live our lives from this day forward telling of His greatness!!!