Sunday, February 21, 2010

We Are Overcomers!

We are overcomers! We have overcome! So why do we still wrestle?
As praise and worship leader I've led this song:
John saw the multitude of the over-comers, and all of them were worshipping the Lord.
Some of them were singing
Some of them were shouting
But all of them were worshipping the Lord…

(Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 12:10-12; and Revelation 19:1-16.)

One day it dawned on me; we are those over-comers. If we're washed in the blood of the Lamb - redeemed by His grace - we are those over-comers! We've overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. (Revelation 12:10-12)
John writes that he has already seen us.
God tells us He's seen the end from the beginning. (Isaiah 46:9-11)
Unlike God, we live on this side of the veil of eternity. Our finite brains wrestle with thoughts of infinity. But God has seen us overcome and He showed it to John. He's already seen us overcome - that means we are over-comers! No ifs, ands or buts about it!
So if we're already over-comers, why do we still wrestle? Here’s one point to ponder.
I dreamed a woman stole my bags. We left an airport in a hurry. She'd picked up my things and scampered ahead of me. I caught her and explained she must have mistakenly picked up my computer bag and purse.
'Oh, here!' she shoved my bag at me, still walking.
'My purse?'
Fumbling through a tote bag containing several purses, she grabbed one and threw it at me.
'Wait, this one isn't mine.' It looked like mine, but had an ID badge clipped to it. 'It must be yours,' I insisted.
She ran. I grabbed her coat sleeve....

I woke up angry. She'd taken purses from others, too. Her bag was full of them.
God showed me that Satan is out to steal my identity. (John 10:10) Without my legal identity – I will wrestle for everything in life that is legally mine.
My true identity in Christ gives me the victory over Satan, makes me an over-comer. Satan is out to steal my identity so that I’m forced to wrestle for what God has already given me.
Ponder this – and let me hear from you!

Monday, February 15, 2010

That Mystery Key

My sister and I talked last night. We can talk for hours about everything and nothing, but when my husband asks what we found to talk about for so long I come up with remarkably little to tell him.
But last night one of the many things we touched on was our never-ending battle with weightloss and being healthy. It's a topic I find myself taking part in with all my friends at one point or another. I'm finding it seems to be at the heart of a lot of women. No wonder so many magazine articles and books are written on the topic. Everyone has something to say on the matter.
We mused over how rich we'd be if we could find the key to unlock the secrets we all search for throughout the years...
In my search I've found some very powerful keys. But the one key that eludes me so far, is the key my sister and I hammered away at last night... how do we get ourselves to use all the other keys we've already found?
We know the bottom-line. We need to exercise more and eat properly and basically commit to becoming disciplined.
But the foods we're not supposed to be poisoning our bodies with taste so good!
And let's face it, some of us were just not born to love exercising! For some of us, it is a chore that we cannot comprehend every finding pleasurable.
My husband loves to work-out. He does it all the time. He spent a long career with the US military, from the Marine Corps to the Air Force. After he retired he became a city cop. He plans a third career as well after he gets his city pension... but he's always been physical. Me? Not so much. I do love to hike, but not for the exercise - just because I love to explore the beauty of my world.
I've been reading Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life and finding so many rich nuggets of wisdom to incorporate into my lfe. But just like incorporating the dieting and exercise into my life, Mr. Warren's nuggets of wisdom hang out there in front of me - like targets to hit or points to be acquired.
What is the missing key? Why does getting across this vast plain of where I am to where I know I need to be seem such a difficult task?
I make my plans, but don't follow through. Can it really be as simple as it appears? Am I just a lazy, undiscipline woman that's frustrated with the way I seem to have been put together?
This is my quest: to find that mystery key. What will open this door for me? Better yet, what will make me walk through it? I don't want to wait for a tragedy that leaves me with no choices.....

Saturday, February 13, 2010

I Am From.....

I am from Chevy cars, from Camel cigarettes and ashtrays.

I am from a home with one heating vent that was raced for every winter morning to giggle at the warm air billowing under our nightgowns.

I am from the strawberry fields and corn stalks and the weeds on Potato Hill.

I am from praying around a crucifix every night and home-made clothes, from Mom and Dad and the five children that came after pretty little Helen.

I am from bathing in a metal tub out back in shared water and singing in the kitchen while we did the dishes.

From 'the look' that summed up what Mom was thinking and '...they're not laughing at you, they're laughing with you...' -Dad's saving wisdom.

I am from the big church with the stained glass windows and confessional booths, from memorized prayers and many lit candles, from kneeling up straight and a pretty white communion dress, from statues that saw your every move and sermons that left me wanting more.

I'm from Ohio, decades after Austria and Italy, perogies, kolaches and Easter Cheese.

From the little boy Bimbo and his charismatic singing, and the quiet girl who loves to dance and won bowling trophies and the secrets we'll never know.

I am from stories never told and photographs in boxes, from memories contrived from perception and smiles that hide forgotten fears and troubles, yet tell of the strength to face tomorrow.

~Helen Williams c 2010

This poem is for participation in an autobiography poetry contest by Chrysalis. Contest ends tonight at midnight. See details here: http://chrysaliscom.blogspot.com/2010/02/autobiography-poetry-contest-reminder.html