Morning Revelations

Because of the LORD'S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The Lord is my protion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamntations 3:22-24 (NIV)

Yesterday, Michigan’s weather was bitter cold and by late afternoon the snow was beginning to fall again. As a result, I stayed hunkered down and I spent most of my afternoon and evening on the internet checking out blogs. What I found greatly distressed me.

I found eloquent writing that painted precise visual pictures in my mind. I found scriptural writings that could have been delivered as a sermon by Billy Graham. There were humorous writings that made me laugh until I cried and touching, heartfelt, testimonies that had me wishing I could walk in their shoes so I could experience the same life saving grace that had been given to them.

But the main thing I found as I scanned the multitude of blogs last night was how my writing paled in comparison.

By bedtime my heart was broken and as I knelt beside my bed I called out to God:

“How did I get it so wrong Lord? How did I misunderstand your call to write? Why did I think I could write for your glory just because I enjoy doing it so much? Please help me do what it takes to discern your will for me now and move in the right direction. Please show me what you would have me do.”

In my quiet time with God this morning, he revealed something that eased my hurting heart as I read the daily reading from a booklet called ” The Word for You Today” http://newlifelancaster.org/content/

The reading for today was based on Numbers 14:24 (NIV)

“The Spirit of Caleb”

Caleb wasn’t into “safe living.” As a young man he came back from the Promised Land, stood with the minority and announced, “With God on our side we’ll take it!” At 85, he was still slaying giants and claiming mountains. That’s because he had a “different spirit.” He wasn’t a “go with the flow and expect the status quo” guy.

Richard Edler writes: “safe living generally makes for regrets later on. We are all given talents and dreams. Sometimes the two don’t seem to match. But usually we compromise both before ever finding out. Later on, we find ourselves looking back longingly to that time when we should have chased our true dreams and our true talents for all they were worth. Don’t let yourself be pressured into thinking that your dreams or your talents aren’t prudent. They were never meant to be prudent. They were meant to bring joy and fulfillment into your life.” If a caterpillar refuses to get into its cocoon it’ll never transform and will be forever relegated to crawling on the ground, even though it had the potential to fly.

What do you believe God’s called you to do? Do it! God’s not limited by your IQ, He’s limited by your “I will.” The poet said: “If you think you are beaten, you are. If you dare not, you don’t. If you’d like to win but you think you can’t, its almost certain you won’t. Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who believes he can.”
The spirit of Caleb is the “can do” spirit! Have you got it? “

What a beautiful reminder from God to keep writing for his glory and quit judging the talents he gives me with the talents he gives to others. A reminder that I'm writing for the pleasure it gives me and not for the esteem of my colleagues.

As he has pointed out in the past, my job is to obey, and leave the results to Him.

So God, this blog is especially for you. Thank you for loving me and using me in whatever way you wish. Thank you for the inspiring words you have given Pastors Chris and Amy Foster at New Life Church. I can’t count the number of times you have used their words to encourage, and guide me.

And thanks too, for my friend Al. Without her passing their church devotional to me I never would have stumbled on to this wonderful addition to my life.

Fasting, Praying, and Almsgiving

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” Matthew 6:16-18 (NAB)

Lent, the time of year where we reflect on our relationship with God through fasting, praying and almsgiving, began, Wednesday, in a virtual winter white out. The trek through the snow for Ash Wednesday Services wasn’t easy, but I was determined to go this year, determined to get real before God.

Leaving the church I pulled my coat and scarf tightly around me as I stepped out into the swirling white snow. What a stark contrast to the big black cross that was tattooed with ashes across my forehead. Ashes to remind me that I am a sinner saved by grace, and in need of repentance.

The snow served as a beautiful reminder of how white my soul will be when God is finished restoring me.

Lent used to be just a bunch of rules to me. As a school girl it signaled the start of 40 days of torture, when I would be guilted into giving up some pleasurable thing as a way of repenting for my sins.

I always tried to give up eating Brussels Sprouts, but mom wouldn’t let me. She knew that for me eating Brussels Sprouts didn’t register on the pleasure scale.

So along with most of my fellow Catholic classmates, I tried going without candy and gum and sometimes sweets in general, for the next grueling 6+ weeks.

Some parents told their kids that Sunday was a free day; others said you should abstain for the whole time. To my dismay, my mom always followed the stricter guidelines.

Some of my friends had iron clad willpower and when Lent was over, their Easter Basket became a true reward for their dedication. Then there were those like me, who, by the second week had already blown it.

Getting my Easter basket often felt a lot like opening my Christmas presents after I had already peaked inside. When the time finally came to savor the moment, or in this case, bite the ear off my chocolate bunny, it was usually a lackluster event.

As I grew older it was time for me to observe the rules about fasting. Fasting meant that our two small meals shouldn’t add up to more than our biggest meal.

I quickly learned to gorge myself at dinner so as not to bend the rules. By the second week of Lent I’d usually blown the fasting rule too.

Then one day I put aside all the “rules” of the Church, and did my own thing. I thought rules were a stumbling block to my relationship with God. So instead I began building that relationship by just talking to him and pouring out my soul. I went to church each week and continued to grow in my faith.

But one day as I was pondering something that was troubling me I heard God ask:

“Why do you always buck the rules?”

“Who Me?”

“Yes, you. Do you realize you have a problem with submission? You always think you have a better way.

After you’ve been still long enough for me to enlighten you, you eventually come around, but before then you are constantly causing an internal conflict.
It’s not that you object to the rules in principle, but you object to someone telling you it’s a rule that you must follow

As much as I hated to admit it, He was right. But then He’s always right.

“Okay Lord, why does the Church tell us we have to fast? Where is the sacrifice if it’s a rule? Wouldn’t you rather have us do something because we want to and not because we have to?”

“Of course, He answered. You always have the choice to do what you wish. The Church is saying if you want to grow closer to God this is what you must do. . Stop thinking of them as rules and call them My guidelines.

Did you notice that My Word assumes you will fast? I didn’t say If you fast but rather when you fast do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.

Fasting isn’t a punishment. Fasting isn’t about not eating, it’s about denying self. It’s about sacrifice, and sacrifice means to “make holy”. Isn’t that what you want me to do, to make you holy?

In other words the sacrifice is a way of saying that food and your desires are secondary to something else, and that something else is Me.
Luanne, what is there in your life that is getting in the way of your relationship with Me?”

Ouch, Ouch and more Ouch!

“How don’t I love thee Lord, let me count the ways”.

1. The words eating addiction came to mind. I use food to soothe my mood, whether happy or sad I want to fill the emotion. Then there is the lack of exercise. Between the two, I am not honoring God when I destroy the temple he created to house his Holy Spirit.

2. The television shows I watch. By the worlds standards they are a little racy, but by God’s standards they are shows that corrupt my mind into thinking certain things are okay because they are funny or cute. I try to reason that they are entertaining, yet bit by bit they draw me further away from proper fellowship with God.

3. I am a shop-a-holic. There is something about buying new outfit that is exhilarating even though my closets are full of more clothes than I can possibly wear in a year I think it is okay because I can afford to buy it. Or how about TV’s. Do I really need so many TV’s when I can only watch one at a time? Greed not only destroys my relationship with God it blinds me to the suffering going on in the world.


Need I go on? I think you have the picture.

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Lent and the Gospel reading was Matthew 4:1-11, Satan tempting Jesus in the desert. As I looked over my list of things that are getting in the way of my relationship with God, I was struck with how they align with the same temptations Jesus suffered.

1. Satan tempted Jesus with food. I have played into Satan’s hand with my addiction to food and my failure to keep my body in optimum physical condition. Lord, help me to fill up on your word and remember that Man does not live on bread alone.
   
   


2. Satan tempted Jesus to test God. I have fallen into that temptation by judging my morals with the world’s standards and not to God’s standard.
   Lord, help me not to test the boundaries of your patience and justice.
   
   


3. Satan tempted Jesus with material gain if he would bow down and worship him. My eyes are focused on the things of this world and I eat out of Satan’s palm when I lust after material possessions.
   Lord, help me to remember there is no other God but you, and help me to do away with anything that comes before my love and dedication to you. Help me to give abundantly and not store up treasures while my neighbor is starving.
   
   

Jesus told us not to look gloomy as we fast. He wasn’t gloomy when he fasted in the desert for 40 days. While he was focused on His Father, his hunger did not overtake him, in fact the bible tells us that he wasn’t hungry until afterwards.

I’m going to follow Jesus’ example. I’m determined to use the next 40 days to rid my life of the clutter that stands between me and God. I’m not giving up, I’m laying down self in order for God to build me up and restore me to the person he wants me to be. I'm washing my face and making it shine and you'll never know whether I'm fasting or not.

But just incase I am would you please say a little prayer that this time I can get past the second week?

Faithful in the Small Stuff

No Doubt About It……..I am style challenged. It’s not that I don’t have style; it’s just… different from everyone else’s.

For over three months, a forest green oversized chair and ottoman stood out as the sole piece of furniture in the living room of my new duplex. I loved this chair and it was the only thing to sit on that I brought from my old home. Finding a sofa to go with it was proving way harder than I thought.

Bigger than the problem of designing the room around the chair was the fact that when God was passing out the style genes, I must have been standing in a different line – most likely the line where they were passing out generous helpings of pleasingly plump.


Not only do I have weird taste in material things, I have an approval addiction, and I judged every sofa I looked at by what my friends would think of it.

My friend Jan had rolled her eyes in disbelief when I told her I was looking for plaid or a feminine flower print. “Oh No, micro fiber is what you need to get. Plaid went out long ago.”

So I began looking at the sofas with micro fiber. I could picture myself curled up on a cold winter’s night in this stuff. But every sofa seemed too light, too dark, too wrong kind of cushion etc. Nothing seemed to strike my fancy.

I was growing depressed with each passing day. I couldn’t entertain a guest unless we sat out on the patio furniture. I was feeling desperate.

After retiring in August I was sure I would finally be able to think clearly and be able to pick a sofa out right away. But when Labor Day rolled around I still hadn’t made my choice.

I took my daughter on a whirl wind shopping trip to 4 different stores to see my favorites that week-end. She liked them all plus a few more. AAAUUUGGGHHH!

I went home that evening exhausted and called my friend Al. She seemed sympathetic even though she’d been hearing the same story for months.

“I think I’m just going to hand my checkbook to my friends Jeanne and Marsha, they both have terrific taste. I’ll just let them pick one for me. It would be so much easier than this indecisiveness”, I told Al. She gasped.

That night when I knelt to pray, I laid my head on the bed and cried out. “Lord, I need a couch but I simply cannot decide. Can you help me, please? Would you PLEASE pick out a sofa for me? Lord, show me what your choice is.

If my friends had heard my prayer that night, they would have laughed. Sometime earlier we’d gotten in a discussion about God’s will. One friend was trying to decide on new flooring but couldn’t seem to make up her mind what to go with. When I asked if she had prayed about it, another friend jumped in and said, “I’m not about to stand in the middle of the store and say “Which rug should I buy God.” “In the first place, I don’t have time to wait to hear his answer. And secondly, I think God has too many other, more important, things to think about than what rug I should buy!”

I wondered if I was passing the buck to Jesus when I should be sucking it up and deciding myself. I don’t know why, but it just felt easier to finally ask God what his decision would be.


After church the next day, I made the twenty mile trek back to the shopping area As I turned the corner I passed by the furniture store that has a different sale every week and sure enough the windows announced a big Labor Day Blow out. I had already decided which store I wanted to buy from but nevertheless I felt a real tug at my heart to pull into the driveway.

Just as I entered the store I saw it. It was different than I ever would have imagined buying. The pillows were a tad bit on the wild side and it had loose back pillows which I swore I would never have, but it just kept drawing me in. I couldn’t explain why I liked it. I just did, it said HOME to me.

When I first began shopping for furniture, my friend Althea, a friend of mine from my widow’s organization, First Tea @ Five, got the itch to replace her sofa. So one day she popped into a name brand furniture store to look around. If you’ve ever shopped some of these stores, you know that you feel like road kill as soon as you enter the store. It seems as though the vultures descend upon you. This happened to Al but she just kept repeating “No thanks I’m just looking.”

Finally one young saleswoman named Cindy stepped up and asked if she could get Al a bottle of water. When she brought the water to Al they began conversing and Al learned Cindy was newly widowed. She invited her to our next meeting, and Cindy accepted. I’m always so amazed at the ways God brings new members into our group.

I sat down on the sofa and wiggled around checking out the feel when I suddenly remembered my prayer from the night before. I raised my eyes to the heavens and just shook my head in disbelief. “Thank You” I whispered. Then God whispered back, “Call Cindy.”

Cindy worked at a different branch and wasn’t working that day, but when I called her at home to see how I could buy this ensemble from her and still take advantage of the sale she assured me I had until Tuesday.

As she thanked me for calling, she mentioned that last month she had not met her quota and was in danger of losing her job. This purchase would help her remain on target.

Had God been waiting for me to ask His opinion? Is anything to small for the Lord to be bothered with? I can’t answer that for sure, but I just know when I put God in charge of even the small things in my life the big things don’t seem so daunting.

With Mom's Blessing

This is my first time participating in Show and Tell Friday.

Here’s my show …and here goes my tell.

My mom died in 1988 due to congestive heart failure. She had been a heavy smoker; at least 1-2 packs a day of Camel cigarettes. She fought obesity for as long as I can remember, which was probably a bigger contributor to her CHF than the cigarettes she inhaled.

But despite her vices she was a dear, and she had a great love for the Lord. In her final years you could usually find her sitting at the kitchen table conversing with God.

My brother’s friends loved coming to our house just to sit and visit with her. She had a tell it like it is attitude, a loud voice and a big heart.

In her kitchen was a large picture window, and my most vivid memories of my mom are pictured with her sitting at the kitchen table keeping watch over the world outside.
In the winter she delighted in watching the birds at the feeders, especially the cardinals dressed in their colorful red feathers. In the summer she was always spotting a humming bird and pointing it out to the grandkids. When we drove out of the driveway she kept waving until we were gone from her view.

My mom’s wedding ring was a simple silver band with a row of tiny diamonds. She was always satisfied with the simplicity of the ring and always said she didn’t need a flashy diamond to prove my dads love to her. Over the years the ring lost several of the chips.

During her first CHF attack, moms ring had to be cut from her finger. She was in a coma for 3 days and we almost lost her. Having to be hospitalized for so long turned into a blessing in disguise for she was able to finally kick the smoking habit she’d had for over 50 years. It was also a blessing that her wedding ring wasn’t ruined, just a tiny cut in the back was all it took to disengage it from her finger, but she didn’t want to have the ring welded just incase it ever happened again.


Her hands and feet often swelled past the point of comfort. Often in the middle of the night she would take her ring off and put it on the night stand.

One day she noticed the ring was missing. The cleaning lady had been to the house earlier in the day, and mom was sure it had gotten knocked off and most likely swept up into the vacuum cleaner. We sifted through the dust and debris to no avail. Mom was heart broken for the rest of her days.

A few years after my mom died my husband came home with an announcement. “I think your dad has a girl friend” he told me. “No way” I gasped.


I hated the idea of my dad having another women in his life, and I didn’t take to the news in a kind way. Especially after I learned she had been his high school sweetheart. It felt like he was betraying my mom.

I refused to have anything to do with this woman and verbalized my feelings to everyone but my dad. In his quiet unassuming way, he suffered in silence at my obstinance.


I became further distraught when he decided to sell my childhood home so he could move into a smaller apartment.


Finally the day came to move dad’s belongings to the new place. It was also the day that I was going to have to meet this “other woman” for the first time, and I was a total wreck.

My job for the day was cleaning the bathrooms. The top drawer of the vanity in the master bath still had mom’s makeup and some of her medicines in it. I remember pulling out the drawers and taking them to the waste basket and dumping the contents out.


I was choking back sobs as I dumped, purging my soul along with the few remaining material possessions.


Finally we were done and everyone began jumping into their vehicles to take the last load of dad’s things to the new apartment.

"I’m not going, you already have enough help", I told them.


After the last car drove away I went to my parents bedroom and sat on the floor and wept.

“Mom I just can’t do this," I cried. "I don’t want to meet Nada. What do you think? Are you okay with dad having this other woman in his life? If you’re okay with it could you give me a sign?" (Okay for anyone reading this don't get bent out of shape because I was talking to a dead person- I know my mom lives today because of her belief and love for her dear savior)

I went home and began getting ready for the evening. Dad and Nada were taking us all to dinner.

At 5:30 my brother George and his wife Cec arrived at our house to drive us to the restaurant. When I opened the front door, Cec was grinning.



“I have a present for you, hold out your hand.” she told me.



Apprehensively I extended my palm and Cec dropped something into it. When I drew it in to have a closer look I saw my mothers lost wedding ring sitting in the palm of my hand.



"Oh my goodness," I exclaimed. "Where did you find this. "



"We found it when we went back to take one final look around. It was in the top drawer of the vanity in the master bath", she said. (Mind you this was the same vanity that I had taken the drawers out of and dumped the contents.)


"We knew you were having a tough time today and we just felt like Mom would like you to have this.”



This was surely my sign from Mom, and as I starred down at the ring, I could feel the touch of God. It was ever so slight as it brushed across my shoulders but it was a healing touch and I felt the scales fall from my hardened heart.


It was an angelic message sent to let me know that it was good that my dad was feeling alive again, and that my Mom was with God and they were rejoicing because dad was moving on with his life.


It was time to put my childishness aside and help my dad be happy once again.

Half of the diamond chips are missing from the ring. I've been hoping to get it restored. Maybe this show and tell will spur me on.

She Speaks Conference

I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it. I’m about to lose control and I think I like it.

Lysa TerKeurst with Proverbs 31 Ministries is sponsoring another contest. This time it’s for a
scholarship to the She Speaks Conference in June.

http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

http: //www.shespeaksconference.com/

I would love to win this contest. I can tell you, I’m going whether I win or not, the money has already been earmarked, but I have a friend who is also writting a book. She has been through some rough times since her husband died , not just emotionally but physically as well. I would love to give her my earmarked money as a gift so she could come and experience this wonderful growing experience as well.

But whether I win or not I just can’t help but post my memoirs from last years conference in hopes that my story will help someone step out in faith.

Here goes:


2007 was the year that the Lord turned up the volume of my spiritual hearing aid.

It all began with what I considered a royal screw up. I’d made plane reservations to visit my friend Jackie in Naples Florida without confirming the date with her. Of course the week-end I’d chosen was the only weekend she wouldn’t be there.

As I rearranged my plans (with the help of Jackie this time) I was thrilled to find out that the new date coincided with her churches Women’s Conference. The speaker was a woman named Lysa TerKeurst from Proverbs 31 Ministries.

My life would never be the same after listening to Lysa talk about saying YES to God.

As the plane made its way down the runway returning me back home, I realized that my being in Florida for this weekend was indeed divine intervention.

Returning back home I was so fired up all I could think of was how I could raise the money to bring Lysa to my little area of the world to speak. I logged on to her website and as I maneuvered around I found out that Proverbs 31 was sponsoring a conference for writers, speakers, and women’s ministry leaders. The conference was called “She Speaks.”

My mouth began to salivate as I read the class descriptions. You see, for over a year I had
been attempting to write a book. God had instructed me one day to begin writing about something he was working on in me. I obeyed. The words began to flow rapidly onto the paper until I got to the ending…. I couldn’t seem to write a suitable ending to the story.

Listening to Lysa had inspired me and I had been revising and writing ever since I had gotten home, and finally I had the end! Now, maybe it was time to learn how to actually write a book instead of just flying by the seat of my pants!

But the price…how could I justify spending the money, not just for the conference but for a flight as well. Not to mention that I would need to take two days off from work. It became my daily prayer for God to provide a way if it was his will.

Every day I’d log on to the website and wonder what to do. A month later, I awoke on the morning of my 58th birthday to this message in my daily devotional,

“If you believe God is asking you to do something, you can’t wait for him to provide the means. Sometimes you have to step out in faith before he will provide. It’s called Trust”

And suddenly I began singing Happy Birthday to ME.


I placed a call to Proverbs 31 and began the registration process over the phone. The friendly woman at the other end of the phone caught me by surprise when she asked me if I would like to take advantage of meeting with a publisher. I froze. I took a deep breath and heard a little voice say “tell her yes”.

“No,” I replied I don’t think I’m ready.

That’s when God turned up the volume another decibel and I heard the words Lysa had spoken in Naples. “I can assure you, she had said. God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies those he calls.

I realized then, that God was calling me to take another leap of faith. Maybe it was to teach me humility when the publisher laughed in my face, or maybe it was to prepare me for something different. Either way, if I was going to follow God I had to follow his direction.

“Um, I think I’ve I changed my mind, I would like to meet with someone after all.”

Stepping off the plane in North Carolina I was a little frazzled as I began trying to find my way to the shuttle. Finally I took a deep breath and said, “Lord, you’ve gotten me this far, I will trust that you will guide me to the hotel as well.” I felt an instant peace. Then I spotted a lone female a few feet in front of me. “By any chance are you in town for the “She Speaks Conference.” “Yes” she said looking relieved. What a blessing to find a new friend to begin the journey with.

I only had one other item that was causing me a little discomfort. My roommate! This was another area that I was depending on God for. I would much rather have had a room to myself, but I felt a little nudge in my spirit when I tried to justify the extra cost of a private room. But more than the cost, God reminded me that this weekend would be about growing in Him and not my personal comfort.

Trusting God paid off again. My roommate was wonderful and a real blessing to share a room with.

And finally the Pièce de résistance was the conference itself. At the registration desk we were given a notebook chocked full of valuable information, outlines, and resources, maps, and anything else we would need.

From the pre conference opening to the closing speech and worship service we were inspired challenged and entertained. I have never seen so many wonderful, compassionate, funny and inspiring leaders all in one place.

Although I crashed and burned in my first attempt at having my book published, the experience was phenomenal. The two women I met with were professional, and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, despite my dismal failure at a book proposal.

I have been to many women’s conferences in the past, from business to spiritual growth, but this was by far the most amazing. When so many women are gathered in one place, estrogen permeates the room, but I can honestly say not once did I hear a single grumble or complaint. It was truly an encounter with the Holy Spirit.


For three days I walked around in awe. Each day exceeded my expectations. But sadly all good things come to an end and soon it was time to head home.
I wasn’t heading home alone. I now had new friends to hold in my heart, mentors from the Gather and Grow group to light my path, and a sense of God smiling at my obedience.
In my bible is a beautiful reminder of my weekend and what serving God is all about. It reads:

It’s about Personal Growth ~ Not Perfection
It’s about Experiencing God ~ Not Exposure
It’s about Helping ~ Not Hoarding
It’s about Obedience ~ Not Opportunity
It’s about a Calling ~ Not Comfort
It’s about God ~ Not Glory

As a footnote let me tell you that just a few days after I registered for the conference we received a purchase agreement on my Fathers estate. It had been on the market for 6 months. The transaction was closed just prior to the conference.

We Serve an Awesome God.

Cheering-My God Given Gift

With all the talk of cheerleading on the blogs the last few days, I decided to post one of my own special God Spots.


For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Blue and Gold Fight Fight!

No that’s not a cheer for the Michigan Wolverines but a cheer that I learned as a young girl sitting on the bottom bleacher of the football stands, watching the cheerleaders do their thing at my brothers football games.

I would come home from his games and practice the moves over and over again until I had them just right. It became a passion, it was in my blood.

Finally the time came when I was old enough to try out for a team. I wanted to be a cheerleader so bad I could taste it. I found a prayer written in a teen magazine one day and I would recite it over and over preparing for the big day.

Dear Father up in heaven, these words to thee I pray
Please help me do my best at tryouts today.
I’ve practiced hard and I hope my work will prove worthwhile
But if I do not make the squad please help me to smile
And congratulate my friends and happy be for them
For in a contest some must lose, and some are sure to win!

I just want you to know that prayer was so indelibly written in my heart that I still have it memorized 40 years later.

God blessed me and gave me the desires of my heart. I wasn’t the best cheerleader on my squad. Actually in form I was way worse than everyone else, but I was all heart and that must have outweighed the negative.

But never ever could I have known way back then, that cheerleading was a call from God.

I was twenty years past my cheerleading days when I was asked to coach my niece’s 8th grade cheer team.

In the midst of controversy over whether or not the girls could mount up in pyramids, I took over a squad of precocious pubescent girls that were grown up one day, and infants the next. Every year I said “no more”, and every year for 7 years God said “Do it again.”

Several years ago as I was out walking and conversing with God about a new organization he was asking me to begin. I stopped dead in my tracks when he put this thought in my mind. “I did not create you to be a leader.” Of course I immediately responded with my usual “I don’t get it God.” And then continued with : “Why would you have asked me to begin this group if I am not supposed to be a leader?”

He told me I wasn't to think of my position as being a leader, but rather a mentor. Hmmm!

I began to think of all the times I have been in a leadership position and I realized that I was always much happier and much more effective as a vice president doing what I could to help out the President and make her job easier, or as a past president mentoring to the incoming President.

My gift wasn’t leadership, God gave me the gift to encourage, and to be His Cheerleader and encourage others in their God given roles. He’d given me a heart to cheer for a purpose all those years ago.

The point was driven home last week while I was getting my hair highlighted. One of those precocious pubescent girls I mentioned ended up being my hairdresser.

The conversation that day centered on her own precocious pubescent who was doing many of the same things her mom had done while under my charge.

I remember feeling quit vindicated. Then the topic changed and we began discussing “God Stuff.”

Before Christmas she had told me about her nephew who did not believe in God, and how much anxiety she was having because she wasn’t feeling confident enough to speak to him about it.

My advice to her was to remember that there are people who reap and people who sow, and people who prepare the soil by praying so that when the time is right the seed can be sowed and nurtured. Maybe all God was asking of her right now was to pray. And I gave her one of my favorite quotes from one of my own mentors. “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” God will let you know when the time is right. It won't be easy but He will give you the strength and the confidence when He's ready for you to witness verbally, I added.

As I sat in the chair this time, she told me how God had put one of her fellow hairdressers on her heart, who also didn’t believe in God, and how she was feeling led to continue to witness to her.

I left the salon that day doing the Praise Jesus dance in my heart (an expression I’ve stolen from Lysa T).

Who would have thought that all those years ago when I was pulling my hair out in frustration that it was actually a time of cultivation?

God was preparing the soil so I could continue in the role He placed me in 20 years before - to be an encourager for my friends walk with the Lord.

Isn’t our God wonderful? I’m so glad he has plans for me. I’m so happy for all the chiseling God was doing when I didn’t know why I had to go thru some of the “Junk”.
I’m so grateful that he has turned our times of tolerating each other into times of rejoicing and sharing our faith.

I just wonder how old I have to get before I quit underestimating the power of God.

Quit Spinning Your Wheels

I was in the middle of my quiet time with Jesus yesterday morning when I felt led to pick up my pen and begin journaling. When God speaks I don’t really know what I’m supposed to write but he just begins wielding my pen.

After reading Lysa T’s blog today regarding skinny girl vs fat girl I decided to post yesterday’s journal entry.

Quit Spinning Your Wheels

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

Lance Armstrong was a seven time winner of cycling's most prestigious race. Three years before he won his first Tour de France, a race that calls for amazing endurance, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and given less than a 50/50 chance of survival.

It must have made getting back on the bike difficult, in more ways than one.

Can you imagine how different Lance Armstrong’s life would have been if he hadn’t listened to his heart. If he hadn’t had the courage to believe he was destined for greater things.

What would his life have been like if he had been content to ride a stationary bike through life? What if he had been too comfortable in his indoor setting to brave the outdoor elements that he would most likely endure on his way to achieving his goal?

He could have settled for just being a little more physically fit by continually spinning his wheels on the stationary bike of life.

On his stationary bike he might have pumped the same amount of revolutions, or increased the cycle’s tension to get the same cardio workout, but he never would have gotten to where he wanted to be. He never would have tasted the Glory.

I believe our churches are filled with stationary bike riders today. They put in their time each Sunday to do their work-out. But in truth they are only spinning their wheels because they have yet to brave the elements in order to get where God wants them to be. They have stayed indoors- in their comfort zone, instead of listening to the voice of God calling them to Glory.

Glory is a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls. We come to Glory by laying our own personal agenda aside and following God.

We can’t assume to know where God is leading; we must listen to his voice. But so many voices compete with Gods each day it’s hard to decipher which one is His. The only way we can know God’s voice is to know his very heart and we do this by delving into his Word and reading and listening to it on a daily basis.

I like to use a dieting and exercise analogy.

When we exercise, our hearts beat faster and we breathe harder. Although its good for our bodies, it’s not easy to get our heart beat up to the maximum rate and sustain it.

But as we cut out the calories and increase the work out our muscles mass increases and endorphins are released giving us a euphoric high. It helps us endure.

The scales begin to show our weight dropping. Sometimes, we get discouraged because we’ve stayed on program but the scales don’t show our hard work. We have reached a dieting plateau. Our bodies have gone into a fight or flight mode to protect us. But eventually our body rebounds and the pounds begin to drop again.

And finally, the results begin showing, and people begin to take notice of the new you.

Exercising our faith is much the same.

As we begin to read the bible we begin to inhale God’s very words to us. But inhaling Christ isn’t any easier than physical exercise.

As we start our morning workout we begin breathing in Gods words, and as we do, he begins pinching off the fat in our lives. He takes a little bit off over here, and adds a little bit to us over there. He takes away a night out with the boys, and he adds a weekly bible study.

Sometimes we come to a spiritual plateau and suffer a set back. But as someone once so aptly spoke, “a set back is a set up for a come back”.

As we endure the exercise, we develop spiritual resolve. God releases his Godly endorphins and we receive a spiritual high called JOY. Even in the grueling workout called life, where we experience bountiful blessings one day and a devastating blow the next, we can count it all Joy. The more joy we give the more joy we get back. The more joy in our lives, the more people take notice of the new self, and the more spiritual fruit we begin to produce.

Will 2008 be the year for you to quit spinning your wheels? Isn’t it time for you to get out of your sweat suit and get into your spandex and go for the Glory?
Isn’t it about time to put on the new self?

Loving Father, thank you for creating in me a holy temple in which the Holy Spirit may abide. Forgive me for the clutter which I have allowed to accumulate, squeezing out your holy presence. Make new my attitude Lord, so that I may be able to put on the new self and always produce good fruit for your kingdom.

Blogging 101 - What I Learned Today

I have been having a ball since I had my foot operated on in November. With my leg encased in a Christmas red cast, my lack of mobility confined me to my overstuffed living room chair.


It was there that I became best friends with my laptop computer and I began logging on to the blog of one of my favorite authors, Lysa TerKeurst.


She makes me laugh, she makes me cry, but to be honest it was her Give Away contest that kept me coming back at first…then it was too late.


With a healed foot (Thank You Jesus), I am now able to move about freely but I have found I have developed an addiction, and I’m hopelessly hooked on blogging.


You wouldn't believe the amount of time I have spent reading comments and checking out other blogs and then going back to mine hoping to see a message waiting. I feel so voyeuristic, and some days I feel as if the blogging police will come and knock on my door and handcuff my computer.

I begin each morning by grabbing a cup of coffee and crawling back into bed to spend some quiet time with the Lord before starting my day. Lately, I’ve had to apologize to God over and over when I find myself rushing thru my quiet time with him so I can log on to the computer. My addiction has gotten so bad that I thought I would have to start looking for some kind of patch I could wear to stop.

I was all set to go cold turkey, when Lysa dangled the carrot - this week she’s giving pointers on how to become a published writer.
This morning along with my cup of coffee, I brought the lap top computer back to bed. I wanted to be ready as soon as Lysa posted her blog for the day.


Today Lysa asked us to go to the blogs of 3 certain woman and then leave a comment telling her something we learned.

As usual I had too many thoughts to leave in a comment box, so instead I decided to post my comments to this blog.

If you clicked over from Lysa’s blog, you’ll understand my comments. But if you’ve stumbled on to my blog by accident do yourself a favor and check out Lysa’s blog then you'll understand why I feel so old.


What I learned from reading today’s blog posts:

1. Lysa TerKeurst- http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

I learned that I am so old enough to be your mother. People used to ask “Do you remember what you were doing when Kennedy got shot” Well Lysa you weren’t even a gleam in your Pappy’s eye yet. (But you’re probably too young to have heard that expression too.)


2. Marybeth Whalen- http://www.marybethwhalen.com/2008/01/balancing-motherhood-and-writing.html
Even though her perfect day sounds perfect to me, God directed me to her side bar. Under the heading “Momtourage” I clicked on “Mourning Into Dance” and then clicked “Hands” I don’t even know who’s blog I was on but it was the exact thing God was working on with me this morning during my time quiet time.

3. Lisa Whittle- http://lisawhittle.blogspot.com/2008/01/from-lysa-terkeursts-blogto-mine.html
Same scenario. After reading what Lisa had to say I clicked on her side bar of previous posts and went way back to one called “Divine Encounter” and again found something God has been putting on my heart to write about. Nice story. But the main revelation I came away with was for the book I have already written. Perhaps instead of 1 book I have 2 or 3. Maybe that’s why I was having so much trouble deciphering which theme I wanted for my main focus.

4. Mary DeMuth- http://www.wannabepublished.blogspot.com/
Well let’s just say as I visited her blog I was treated to a grande` size cup of humility to go with a super-sized slice of Humble Pie. Boy do I have some work to do!

Now if you don’t mind it's time for this old geezer to go put some Ben-Gay on my decrepit joints!

A Pillar of Cloud

“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way
and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
Exodus 13:21(NIV)

I received some troublesome news last week when my good friend Abby called to tell me she had just been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. The news left my stomach tied in knots as she told me how she had carried her burden alone for several days, not wanting to spoil Thanksgiving for her family.

For the next few days my mind was continually occupied with concern for her prognosis, despite the fact that she had told me she was feeling at “peace”.

Eight years ago as I sought treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Abby along with our mutual friends, had felt that same concern for me. It had never been clear why my friends were more concerned about my diagnosis than I was, but today as I replayed Abby’s announcement in my head, my thoughts paused on her words “at peace”, and I finally understood.

Peace is a reassurance of just how intricately God is involved in our lives. When our world is full of uncertainties and unknowns, God steps in and gives us His peace. I remembered having that same peace as I battled my cancer, a peace that can only come from God, His special gift. It is a peace that tells our innermost being that he is in control and that he’s got our back; a peace that Paul says transcends all understanding.

Before Abby ever received her disturbing diagnosis, God had surrounded her with his peace.

I recalled her story about the day she had heard the news. She had decided to spend the day at a shopping mall an hour away from home and left early that morning in order to be there when the stores opened.

As she headed south on I-75 towards her destination, the weather began to change. In an instant she found herself in a total cloud of a steamy rain/fog mixture and she was unable to see more than a few feet in front of her. The semi tractor trailers surrounding her vehicle further contributed to obscuring her vision as their tires sprayed the rainy mixture onto her windshield. Their giant frames often veered into her lane.

With her heart beating rapidly and her white knuckles clutching the steering wheel, she began to wonder if she would come out of this predicament alive. She knew that just ahead were curves that she would not be able to see. “Help me Lord”, she prayed silently,


A few minutes later the fog and clouds suddenly cleared and the pavement dried. Relieved to have weathered the storm and to have arrived safely at her destination, she thanked God for his protection.

Walking out to her car later in the afternoon her cell phone announced that she had a message waiting. It was the doctor’s office calling. Returning the call, she heard her doctor’s voice saying, “I have some bad news.”

As I listened intently to Abby’s story I couldn’t help but visualize the loving arms of God surrounding her as she learned the news and suddenly the words of Exodus 13:21 popped into my head. “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

In my NIV Life Application Study Bible the notes explain: “The pillars of fire and clouds were examples of theophany-God appearing in a physical form. In this form, God lighted Israel’s path, protected them from their enemies, provided reassurance, controlled their movements, and inspired the burning zeal that Israel should have for their God.”

God is still in the business of guiding people’s paths today, and I believe he did that in a special way for Abby that day. For he knew that ahead of her she would find curves that would leave her wondering if she would come through her storm alive; and semi’s threatening to crush her along the way.

But God went before her in a pillar of cloud that day to remind her that she has been surrounded with His peace and to give her the reassurance that He will be with her for whatever comes her way.

What a faithful God we serve, a God who pauses from the business of running the universe and reveals his love and goodness just when we need it the most.

Father, thank you for being a God who knows just what we need even when we don’t know we need it. Thank you for being a God who heals, a God who comforts and most of all a God who loves us more than we can ever know. Help us Lord, to always remember that in every cloud that enters our life, you are there in its midst.

Help I Need Somebody, Help Not Just Anybody

I’m looking for honest feed back.

Oh Oh, is that what I really want?

What started out as enjoyment , to occasionally write a short story or poem, has become a passion. The more my faith in Christ has increased the more I feel led to write of the dealings and meaningful conversations I have had with my dear Lord and Savior. But there is a small problem.

A few months ago I was discussing my new passion with my brother. He laughingly related a comment one of his professors had made to him. It seems my brother was using the word “I” too much in his paper and his professor wanted him to restructure some of his sentences.

OUCH. Those words stung because I find myself doing the same. My goal is that my writings reflect God, and that His words become mine, but I just seem to be sticking out all over the place.

It’s been a growing concern. Especially if I really feel God is calling me to write.

So, Monday night I asked my bible study group to pray that God would increase and I would decrease.

I’m not sure it’s having any effect on my writing, but God has been laying some pretty heavy things on my heart.

It has to do with a vow of poverty, and I just don’t know where God is going with it. And it’s not the first time I have felt this nudge.

If I may take a minute to explain. … I’m not a wealthy woman. I’m a middle aged woman. My husband died 14 years ago leaving me a monthly pension, enough to supply my needs not my wants. Last year, I received a small inheritance that I was hoping to invest for my retirement years. But 5 months ago God asked me to leave my job as a receptionist to stay home and begin writing. (The receptionist job had been supplying my wants) Knowing I had the pension and now a small inheritance made it easier for me to say yes, but now I am feeling led to give it all away.

Perhaps the next step for my life won’t be revealed until I obey.

Is God saying “Luanne if you want to be a writer or speaker so bad than this is what you have to do?”

I wonder if God is trying to increase my dependence on Him.

It’s not a matter of my obeying, but more about how to obey. The closer I grow to God, the more he has opened my eyes to the greed and the waste of our precious gifts and resources.

Someone once said that the final judgment won’t be God asking what I did wrong, but rather what did I do with the gifts God gave me, like in the parable of the talents.

Did God give me gifts so I could live more comfortably than my neighbor? Do I take it a step further to find out who my neighbor is?

My question to anyone reading this blog isn’t whether they think I am a nut case for giving away my inheritance. My friends have already weighed in on that fact and are a bit concerned. But they think from a worldly view, and God isn’t speaking to them, but to me.

What I’m looking for are people who have had a similar nudging from God, and whether or not they just waited for the phase to pass, or did they take a bold leap of faith and follow God. I’m looking for stories of both failures to respond, and faith leaps. I'm not looking for "attagirl" pats or "What are you thinking" but rather ... This is what I did and this is what happened etc.

Again, I’m not asking that you tell me to rethink my decision. If I fall flat on my face in the endeavor at least I erred on the side of God. My belief is that God will never allow us to do anything that he can not turn into his glory. But how can I truly love God and allow a child to starve because I'm saving for my future. Don't I need to trust God for my daily manna?

Thanks,
Luanne

Child-like Faith

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-3 (NIV)

Whats your vision of God?

Yesterday, during his message, Father John asked us that thought provoking question.

He suggested that if we could change the way we envision God, perhaps, we could change our behavior. He asked us to think about the different “God views” we had read earlier in the service. In the first reading from Exodus we saw God portrayed as a stern judge; and in the Gospel readings we saw Jesus as a Good Shepherd, and we saw God symbolized as a woman who had lost a coin, and also as a rather over indulgent, yet forgiving father in the story of the Prodigal Son.

While I have envisioned God in many different forms, something happened during the service that made me experience God from a completely new point of view.

As the service was drawing to a close, a small girl not more than three years old, managed to make her way to the aisle and proceeded to run up and down and all around casting her cares to the wind as she alluded her visibly embarrassed father who was pursuing her. She darted thru the congregation as she silently sang, YOU CAAN”T CATCH ME! Heads turned and most of us smiled as we watched the scenario play out. Some fidgeted in their seats at the audacity of that family to not have their child under control. “How dare you interrupt my time of worship!” their body language seemed to say.

After several minutes the little girls feet slowed, and as she grew tired her father caught up to her, lifted her into his arms and held her close as he took her back where she belonged.

I believe God directed those tiny feet yesterday to teach us a lesson on our view of God.

How closely our lives resemble that child, I thought. How often have we strayed from God and in that moment of freedom, run aimlessly thru life as if to say to God, “NANANANANA YOU CAAN’T CATCH ME? Around and around we go, trying to fill our soul with all the material things that the false Gods of this world have promised would make us happy. Finally, in our weariness we slow, and our hearts call out “Catch Me Daddy.” Only then is God, who has steadfastly been pursuing us, able to sweep us into his loving arms where we were meant to be all along.

Just as that visual was settling in my mind, God brought a different thought. Just suppose, he whispered, that little girl wasn’t running away from someone, but towards someone. I imagined Christ, white robe and all, laughing as he ducked in and out of the congregation calling to her, “COME AND GET ME!”

It never crossed the little girls mind that she could fall face first into the baptismal font and drowned, or that she could become lost in the crowd. She never thought for one second, that her father would not be there to save her. No, she just ran shamelessly towards her goal, her goal to be free.

Isn’t that what Christ does with us? Doesn’t he invite us everyday to leave our comfortable surroundings and chase after the dream he has put in our heart, “the prize for which he has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:14) Yet instead of chasing after God and following with reckless abandon, we concentrate on the things that could happen if we step out in faith, we clutch the things of comfort that we must forgo to live the life he wants for us. We’ve lost that child like trust to believe that God has a better plan.

What is God calling you to, today? What is he asking you to put aside so you can follow?

I pray that we may always have the faith of a child to believe what we cannot see, and that we may be humble enough to admit we cannot do it our own way, and to find joy in our dependence on God. And finally I pray, that we don’t become so caught up in our own idea of worship that we fail to see other ways God may call us to honor Him.
May we become child-like, so we too may inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Father, help me to always remember the lesson of the little girl you showed me today. Let me boldly chase after you and follow the dream you have put in my heart. And when I grow weary, help me to always remember that I can find rest in your fatherly embrace. Amen

My Grandmother

My grandmother Carrie has always been an inspiration to me. She became a widow at the ripe old age of 39 and remained so until she died at age 101.

As a little girl I looked forward to her visits. She was a quiet, unassuming woman and I adored her. She had a way of making each grandchild feel as though they were her favorite, even though I’m sure it was me she liked best.

Growing up I shared her love of sewing, growing flowers, playing cards, writing poetry and short stories and I even shared her shoe size. But it wasn’t until I became a widow myself at the age of 44 that I could identify with her pain of going thru life without her mate.

I wish she was still alive. I have so many things I’d like to know about her journey thru widowhood. My grandmother wrote with a great deal of spiritualness and I’d love to know about her relationship with God and whether that relationship came about because of her struggles.

Someday I’ll see her again and thank her for inspiring, and blessing my life with her writing. I’ll end this post with my favorite poem of hers.

I Heard It Too

I walked along the garden path
I heard it in the breeze.
I heard the voice of Jesus
In all the swaying trees.

I heard it in the buttercups,
In the leaves and in the grass
In all the tiny raindrops,
In the laughter of a lass.

I heard it in the moonlight
And I know that it is true
If you’ll listen for His Kindly voice
You can say I heard it too!

I heard His voice on the mountain top
In the ocean and the sea
I heard it in a robin’s song
It meant so much to me.

I heard it in a baby’s cry,
In the chapel when I pray;
In every tiny candle
that burns from day to day.

I heard his voice when I was tired,
In the clouds that roll so high;
In the planes that circle o’er us
In the stars up in the sky.

I heard it in a mother’s sob
When things did not go right
A soothing loving whisper
That made her burdens light.

I heard it when kind deeds were done
And I know that it is true
Just stop awhile and listen
And you can say “I heard it too!”

Carrie P Smith

May 16,1957