Thank You

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 (NIV)

As we are on the threshold of another Memorial Day weekend, I find myself pondering and mulling all that this most solemn holiday really means to me...I hope to do those thoughts justice as I attempt to share them in today's blog....
Since my hubby's return to active duty military service a few years back, I have to admit my perspective has radically changed concerning his choice of occupation, It has gone from being casual and nonchalant to serious, reverent and respectful, but I believe that most everyone can relate to that statement because on 9/11/01, I also believe that to some degree, everyone's perspective changed......
Since we reside in a military town, the reminders of duty and sacrifice are forever with us....Since staying fit is part of his job, I watch my precious hubby roll out of bed every morning at "zero-dark-thirty" as I call it, just so he can hit the gym before work so as not to take away from our family-time in the evening.....I have lost track of the number of countless friends and acquaintances who have spouses deployed right now, not to mention the one's who have already, or are once again, packing up all of their earthly belongings to move to a new home because they have new military orders, and a new life to begin someplace else.....worse yet though, are those whom we have witnessed pay the ultimate price via loss of limb and life...just last week, I called my hubby, as I often do for a quick chat during the day, and when he answered the phone, I immediately knew in hearing his voice that something was terribly wrong...he had lost a friend, a Brother-in-arms, who was slated to retire, but at the last minute decided he would do one more tour in Afghanistan...now, my hubby explained to me, that his friend would never come home......
In hearing all of this, you might wonder what it is that keeps folks committed to willingly making such sacrifices....I've wondered that myself from time to time, but every time I step foot on the military base that adjoins our town, I no longer have to wonder....the sense of purpose and honor that flows from all of the young men and women in uniform, also makes their sense of commitment abundantly clear. Even more than that, it rubs off....it makes me proud to be the wife of a United States Marine.... It makes me proud to do my small part to aid in the protection and continuation of this great nation in which we live... I grant that America is not perfect and may have her fair share of troubles, but there is truly no other place in the entire world that I would rather live....God bless the USA and all who serve to keep her safe!!!!  Thank You!!!!

Mr.Hawking, I Beg To Differ....

Job 40:1-2 " Then the Lord said to Job, "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?"


"A man can no more diminsh God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell." ~C.S. Lewis

I recently read an article based on the life of British Physicist, Stephen Hawking. In this article, he expounded greatly on his opinions of heaven, the afterlife and God. Let me just say, that although Mr. Hawking is certainly entitled to his opinion...I must vehemently beg to differ with him...
He clearly said that "There is no afterlife." and  "Heaven is a fairy story that has been made up by those who are afraid of the dark."
Of course, given that mine is a Biblical worldview,  it saddens my heart that he would rather worship the created rather than the Creator, but I do find one fact in this whole story that saddens me even more...Mr. Hawking was diagnosed with ALS (a.k.a Lou Gehrig's Disease) at the age of 21 and is now, remarkably still alive and sharing his opinions at the age of 69....again, as my worldview is based in what I consider to be absolute (Biblical) truth.... I observe in the very fact that he is even still alive, a sheer, utter and complete miracle and because Mr. Hawking believes that "his brain is merely a computer that will cease working when it's components fail" I further believe that he is missing the miracle which has been bestowed upon him!!! How very sad....
Even the author of the article commented on and seemed to marvel at how unprecedented it is that Mr. Hawking has lived for so many years with such a lethal diagnosis....I, on the other hand, do not marvel at all because I see God's hand all over the very fact that he's still here with us...I don't marvel because I serve a God who tells us in His word that "What is impossible with man; is absolutely possible with Him."
Although I can't begin to imagine the struggle Mr. Hawking has faced in living with ALS for the better part of 48 years, I nevertheless, also can't help but wonder what he might have accomplished on behalf of God's Kingdom  had he been living with that diagnosis for all this time as a believer in Christ....
I'd be lying if I said I can begin to understand why he has gotten to live for so long with a highly terminal illness while showing absolutely no reverence for God...especially in light of the fact that there are many who have loved God with their whole hearts, suffered from less lethal illness and yet are no longer with us on this side of life, but I also recognize that to entertain such a question for long and seek the answer to it is crossing over into the area of God's sovereignty and therefore is......none of my concern....yet again, I can see that it is just like God in his longsuffering and lovingkindness to extend Mr. Hawking the grace and gift of more time in order to ensure that he, like the rest of us, may have every opportunity possible to enter into relationship with Him.....
In closing I would finally like to say....Dearest Mr. Hawking, I can assure you that I learned a very long time ago not to fear the dark ....it was at precisely the moment that I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, received the free pardon of my sin  and came to the realization that He conquered darkness on my behalf via His death on the cross....He is not my "crutch", nor is He my "coping mechanism" for life..... He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...and yes, Mr. Hawking, I believe that even you will one day bow before Him and confess this with your own  mouth....in the meantime, I and many others will continue to praise the God and Creator of this universe that you love to study and worship...I and many others will praise Him for the miraculous way that He has lovingly and mightily sustained your life....I and many others will praise Him for His mercy that endures forever and I ( and I pray many others) will pray for you without ceasing in hopes that oneday, before you breathe your last, you might also come to do the same.....

Whose Kingdom Are You Building?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Ps. 139:23-24 NLT)

I cannot tell you how many times God has brought this question back to my heart over the past few weeks…”Whose Kingdom are you building?” over and over again this has been the million dollar question of the day….

From ministry messages I’ve heard, blogs I’ve read to conversations I’ve had with friends and loved ones…God seems to constantly be checking my heart and I figure it’s high time I listen….

May I just  be transparent and come clean and admit that this one challenge from God has always been a hard pill to swallow…it is sometimes so difficult to separate myself from being the vessel and remember that it is God Who should shine and be glorified and not I….I mean, while I know this truth logically,in order for me to be fully effective for the Kingdom, it has to be my heart that “gets” it…Please, tell me that some of you can relate!!!???

Unfortunately, there is a word for what I struggle with…it’s called hypocrisy; which has the working definition of “to be seen by men”…ouch!!! Yes, that ugly word that Jesus was forever (and rightly) hurling at the Pharisees; He has recently, just as rightly, been hurling at me!!! In this instance, this has not so much been about my being prideful about the work God has placed before me to accomplish, but rather about “who” I’m doing it for….whoops…maybe that is pride….but I’m sure that’ll be a blog subject for another time….Oh dear….

When I was recently put on blast by a reader of some of my writings, I took a hit to my ego that I didn’t expect, but am glad nevertheless to have experienced because in that, God quickly started to admonish and redirect me about “why” my ego was attached to HIS work in the 1st place!!! He has since seared these words from Max Lucado’s book “Outlive Your Life” in my spirit…. “Jesus did not say, “Do not do good works.” Nor did he instruct, “Do not let your works be seen.” We must do good works, and some works such as benevolence and teaching, must be seen in order to have an impact. So let’s be clear. To do a good thing is a good thing. To do good to be seen is not…..” (1) And there it is…the root of my problem and why I’ve recently begun to grow weary in my service to the Father…I forgot who the accolades belong to….I forgot that if I am being obedient to God and no one notices (or if they do and blast me for it) that is fine because it never has been, nor ever was intended to be about me!!!!

I suspect that the battle to maintain the right perspective on this issue will be one that I will wage for the rest of my life…but every time that God brings it to my attention that my heart is headed in the direction of gratifying “self” and not Him…I hope to remember to pray the same words which John the Baptist spoke of Christ… “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” (John 3:30 NLT)

So my friends, the next time you find yourself growing weary in your walk with and service for God, ask Him to search your heart so that you too may be sure that the weariness and heavy burden you find yourself carrying is not as a result of your attempting to own the glory that is meant for God alone….His glory is much too weighty for our feeble human frames to withstand…that’s why He never intended to share it with us to begin with….if we can but learn that our greatest satisfaction in life will come as we seek to make His name famous and further the cause of His Kingdom in the earth, we will then have truly found the keys to success and lasting fulfillment.



1. "Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference" Pg.92; Max Lucado; Thomas Nelson Press

Legacy

Proverbs 31:28 "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her."

As another Mother's Day  is about to draw to a close (written 5/8/11), I find myself pondering the word...."legacy"...
Not only is that word the title of a beloved Women's Ministry which God has graciously allowed me to be a part of.....over the past few days, I've had many friends remind me of the extreme significance of that word through their own kind words of loving encouragement concerning the life and legacy of my own precious mother, but it's what my children have said and even have not said, over the course of this day and weekend, that has caused me to stop and ponder the word the most....
While spending time looking at old  family pictures with my kiddos, my oldest son began chiding me about how he happened to be the only kiddo in one of his youth team sports pictures who wasn't wearing a uniform....as we chuckled together about how my notorious "scatterbrainedness" was at the root of the resulting picture, I began to wonder how my oversight may have in fact bothered him more than he had ever let on at the time...and up sprung that word in my thoughts once again...."legacy"....
As we prepared this morning to leave for a breakfast buffet, another of my kiddos walked into my room to "remind me" that "The slowcooker would work better at cooking the pot roast I had hoped to prepare for our dinner if I first turned it on!!!" After another good chuckle about how forgetful and scatterbrained I am, he then proceeded to tell me how he had just seen an article on MSN that explained "why imperfect moms were the best kind to have" after which he again chided..."Well mom, we all know you're not perfect." And immediately, there it was again that word...."legacy"...
Don't get me wrong, amidst the poking fun at my faux pas and shortcomings were also expressions of love and gratefulness, but every word I'd heard or read to that point came back in a flood and started me pondering the question once again "Am I building, with my husband and children, the type of legacy I'm hoping for?" the words of Proverbs 31:28 rushed into my mind and then right behind them so did a prayer..."Lord, continue to take my efforts and cover them with Your grace and bless the lives of my husband and children through me."
As I mentioned before, many have spoken these past few days about the wonderful legacy that my own mom built and has left for me and although it pains me greatly that she is gone; I am still and always will be eternally grateful for the way her life poured out blessing after blessing into my own....was she perfect?....absolutely not....was she as forgetful as her daughter?....well, again, absolutely not....but standing here alone; on the backside of her life and her involvement in mine, I am left with a very deep sense of being more grateful to have had her as my mom in the first place; than I am sad to have lost her....and that, my friends, is the legacy I pray I am building in the lives of my husband and children as well....
One of my most cherished gifts I received this Mother's Day (and there were many) were these beautiful words penned by my daughter....I share them with her permission..." I woke up this morning, and saw the sun, I was immediately reminded of you....Radiant, beautiful and bright. Thankful that I could see another day, but mostly, thankful for the fact that I have another chance to see your face. Your presence means more to me than you will ever know. I'm glad you're in my life, I will forever love you, through the good, the bad and the strife. I'm honored to call you my mother, you're one of the best around, I know that everyone can see that you're the reason that I smile. Thank you for always being there for me, you're the best and I hope that you can see. I will love you always and forever. Thank you for all that you do. The definition of  a "good" mother, will always be you."
Friends, for as much as those tender words move and speak volumes to my heart, I realize nevertheless that my journey as well as yours, is not yet complete...each new day is a brand new gift and opportunity from God to continue to seed and build the legacy that we each hope to leave behind for our biological, as well as, spiritual families....so as I tuck those precious words away for safe keeping; so that I may use them to remind and encourage my heart throughout the remainder of my time here on earth as wife and mom to the wonderful husband and children God has entrusted to me, I also have one thought which I will keep in the forefront of my mind...it is my goal, prayer and desire to see to it that those words still ring true for my daughter (and the rest of my children) when they stand on the backside of my life, but most importantly, I pray and desire that when my life is over, their love and devotion for God will exceed their love and devotion for me.....so then, and only then, my legacy...my journey....will truly be complete...I hope some of you can relate and also agree.....

A Faraway Heart

Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says:”These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me .

In studying the life of King David, there were many things that leapt off the page and ministered to my heart, but it was the main and all encompassing difference between King David and King Saul that quite simply spoke to and cautioned me the most…Basically, King David had a teachable, obedient heart; while the other (King Saul) did not. This difference in heart attitude is very obvious throughout the reign of both Kings but a pointed example of what David possessed and Saul lacked is made clear in Scripture in 1 Samuel 15. In this portion of Scripture, God rejects Saul as the King of Israel because he blatantly disobeyed God’s command to destroy the Amalekites, livestock and all because of “what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up out of Egypt.” (vs.2 NIV) The result Saul came up with is what I’ve coined as “his own method of attempting to improve on God’s plan.” I know many of you know the story, but for those who do not, Saul took it upon himself to not only spare the King of the Amalekite nation, but he also kept all of the choice livestock as an offering for God and then proceeded to destroy only everything that was weak. (vs. 8-9 NIV) When the prophet Samuel showed up to confront Saul over his disobedience, Saul literally exclaimed “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” (vs. 13 NIV) to which poor Samuel replied “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”(vs.14) “Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” (vs.19) Amazingly, Saul responded with “But I did obey the Lord! I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” (vs.20-21) Long, sad story short, Samuel ended up having to carry out God’s command due to Saul’s disobedience.

Many years later, a moment arises in the life of King David which is recorded in 2 Samuel chapters 11 & 12 that must cause us to pause, but also offers us hope. The story of David and Bathsheba is one of renown and many know it well…..The interesting thing of this life experience of King David is that although he committed adultery with Bathsheba, got her pregnant and then had her husband, Uriah, killed when he couldn’t effectively cover up his sin….It’s How he responded to the prophet Nathan, whom God sent to confront him over his sin, that declared David’s response to God and the attitude of his heart toward God to be extremely different than that of Saul. Nathan told David a parable to “explain” his own sin to him (12: 1-4). Upon having heard the parable, David’s sense of justice reared up and we’re told in verse 5 that his anger flared and he demanded the death of the man whose actions Nathan is speaking of in his parable….right then (vs. 7) Nathan said to David “You are the man!” To which David quickly replied. “I have sinned against the Lord.” Notice, there was none of Saul’s rationalizing present in David’s response….just….”I have sinned against the Lord.”

So what then is the lesson (and hope) to us in the fact that David could fall so far from obedience (just like Saul) and yet have Almighty God still declare him to be “a man after His own heart?” The truth here is simple….David’s heart never remained very far away from God’s. Yes, his actions were wrong, and there were great consequences which he endured as a result of his actions, but his heart attitude toward God remained "right"…. His, was a heart that desired to know God intimately and to serve Him reverently. Although there were seasons in David’s life when he allowed himself to be led astray because he lost sight of those desires of his heart, the difference between his heart attitude toward God, and that of his predecessor, King Saul was stark and taught me the greatest lessons concerning what the posture of our own hearts should be in relationship to God. If we also long to be called a people after God’s own heart, then we too must have hearts that are yielded to following and obeying God. Since we are also human and imperfect, we need to be certain that on the occasions when our actions are wrong, that our hearts remain teachable, humble, pliable and contrite so that we may also be quick to seek God in repentance and thereby continue to remain in right fellowship with Him. The example, in and of, King Saul’s faraway heart is one that I pray I will not soon forget because I fear that to forget it is to potentially run the very serious risk of winding up with my own heart  being found in the very same condition….By the way, have you had your heart checked lately?