Readiness......

 

If God just showed up in bodily form at your door, how might you react? We might laugh at the idea, thinking it’ll never happen, or panic because “the house is a mess”.

But because He doesn’t necessarily choose to wear flesh when He shows up, we tend to ignore the reality that He’s here.

What if God announced that He would be showing up at your door tomorrow morning? So, it’s not a surprise visit. What might you do to prepare for His coming?

Would you feel unprepared and ask Him not to come until one day next week (or next month)?

Would you sit up all night waiting on Him? Do you think you’d be afraid or excited? Do you think you’d be nervous or like a child knowing his dad was coming home from a trip that felt a little too long this time?

Would you take the time to make sure everything was clean and in order, or just be so glad to see Him that nothing else mattered?

Would you think you’d have things to hide before He gets there? Or maybe that He’d be disappointed with what He saw when He walked through the door? Would shame rise up within you? Or would your heart be flooded with joy?

Truth is, He shows up at the door of your heart every single day.

Do you notice Him there and let Him in?

Do you not recognize Him and blow past Him?

Are you too busy to even notice that someone is knocking?

When your neighbor comes to the door with a need, do you turn them away?

When a man at Walmart drops his items, do you stare and laugh, or do you kneel and help him pick them up?

When your child is struggling with their homework, do you [try to] help them understand what they’re doing?

When you see a lost child crying at the supermarket, do you console them and help them find their mom? Or look the other way?

When you know a friend is sick, do you pray for them, perhaps send a card, call (or text) to check on her or even take her flowers?

When someone you know is down on their luck, do you visit them or try to cheer them up? Pray with them? Or avoid them because it’s an awkward situation?

When you see someone wronged, do you speak up?

When someone wrongs you – do you forgive quickly or hold a grudge?

When dealing with someone who doesn’t seem to realize how easily you could cheat them, do you?

When your child or friend creates something they’re proud of, do you encourage them?

When your friend writes a new blog post, do you read it? (wink;wink)

“And the King will answer and say to YOU, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Matthew 25:40

There are so many little ways we prepare our hearts for the King.

But only He can wash your heart and make you righteous. To be truly ready for His visits, you need to let Him come in and do the cleaning. Open that door right now and ask Him in…….

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

Revelation 3:20

 

What a Powerful Weapon

 

(picture from tinybuddha .com)

One of my most powerful weapons is evident in God’s Word. We find it tucked into the book of Philippians, among other places. These are some of my very favorite verses in the Word because of the dark place they lifted me from. I consider them key to opening every treasure in God’s Word. As a matter of fact, I use them as my signature sometimes. They’re even on my address labels.

Philippians 4:4-8.

Rejoicing, no matter our circumstances can change everything about the way we view our lives. I consider this the bazooka in my arsenal. Satan can’t stand against it. There’s nothing he can do about it at all. When he throws his worst at us and sees us rejoicing anyway, he has to know he's a defeated foe. By the way, joy and happiness are not the same thing. Though joy will bring happiness…

It may seem harsh to expect people to rejoice even in their darkest hour, but it’s one thing that allows God’s outreached hand to clasp ours and pull us out. My friend’s daughter was murdered a few weeks ago, and I know the thing that will most effectively help her move forward with God is to rejoice and give Him glory for her life. Of course, I don’t mean to tell anyone they should rejoice BECAUSE OF something that’s happened (or didn’t happen). Or that they should rejoice and be thankful because something or someone was taken from them. But in the midst of those circumstances, we can rejoice in the One Who saw it all from the beginning and knows what to do in the moment and in the next moment. And the next.

picture from wallpaper cave)

I realize you know this. I’m just writing to remind you. No matter how dark a storm gets, Jesus is the brilliant dawn that will arise and take us through tomorrow.

When rejoicing is the last thing we feel like expressing, it’s the best thing to do. It reveals to us (and shows our all-knowing God) that we trust Him, and that we truly do believe He’s good, no matter what’s going on around us. Sometimes in the midst of that rejoicing is where we figure out that we really DO trust Him and that He really DOES love us.

When we’re rejoicing in Christ, I don’t know if it’s even possible for us to worry. For me, once I let the joy bubble up within me, it chases whatever has been trying to rob me of my peace. I think the enemy wants to steal our joy as much as he wants to take our faith from us.

When I read that we’re to let our gentleness be evident to all, I see our gentleness as the opposite of us being defensive; we’re allowing God to defend us, so we can afford to be gentle. Gentle doesn’t mean passive or looking the other way, but actively rejoicing (perhaps quietly, maybe boldly and loud) while we’re trusting that in God, even when our world is falling apart around us. He doesn’t want us to be anxious about anything, but to allow our trust in Him to accompany that joy as it flows out of us to everyone around us. Gentleness includes actively praying and making our needs known to God and doing so with thanksgiving.

(picture from goodnet)

That’s when God’s peace can take us over. By worrying and allowing ourselves to become stressed out and fearful in a situation, we’re actively rejecting and blocking His peace out of our circumstances, leaving our hearts vulnerable for attack from the enemy. God’s peace is above everything and beyond our human explanations. God’s peace actually guards our hearts AND our minds. Those are the very areas the enemy is trying to attack and cause disarray and discouragement and anger and impulsiveness. We need His guard to prevail and overcome.

Whether we’re singing or humming; dancing or laying still under our covers, whether we’re dancing around the room or driving our car – God recognizes our joy. He sees our joy and His peace is ushered into us. Finding ourselves overcome with His peace may even surprise us!  He is always as close as we need Him to be. He never wanders away. He never takes His eyes off of us. He’s never too busy to meet our needs. He never makes us wait for His peace. If we’re not experiencing His peace, we’re the ones denying ourselves that peace by worrying and not trusting Him. He’s right there patiently waiting for our change of attitude. He’s not angry with us because we faltered and doubted. He’s not shaking His head because we’re still trying to do things on our own. His peace is just as patient as His love for us.

(picture from rgb stock)

When rejoicing isn’t spontaneous, we have to ask ourselves what we’re thinking about. What are we dwelling on and mulling over in our minds? Are we thinking on the good things in Life? The good that God is to us? The good gifts He’s given us? His saving grace and immeasurable mercy? Are we thinking about all the provision He’s already lavished on us? Or are we thinking on what’s gone wrong in our circumstances – or what COULD go wrong? Are we mulling over how things could have gone differently, or how we wish we could fix our situation ourselves? Are we imagining the different choices that could have or should have been made? Do we think we’re mentally punishing someone else for something they’ve done? We’re not. If we’re not rejoicing, we’re punishing and hurting ourselves and perhaps making the people who love us feel sad or upset or frustrated with us. This is the ever so powerful verse eight: think on the good things. Simple – but oh so powerful! God’s ways are so much higher than our ways. How can such a simple tool be such a strong tool? It’s so easy to think on good things, unless our heart is intent on thinking on the wrong things. Journal a list of good things to keep on hand to think on when the enemy tries to insist you think on how you’ve been hurt or betrayed. The list will grow longer with time. Thinking on good things and rejoicing go hand in hand; they feed each other.

To me, rejoicing is like the underwear we wear under the full armor of God. Who goes out with their underwear? Who wants armor rubbing on their bare skin? The more outrageous our joy, the thicker the undercovering beneath the armor – making it easier to put the armor on and wear it all day long.

Okay, you already know I’m not a pithy woman. But, I’ll wrap things up.

Joy is contagious. Once we’re rejoicing, even if it’s not blatantly obvious to those around me, they’ll start feeling it, too. They get to choose whether to take it up or run from it, but they’ll know it’s there for the taking. Spread it around liberally. Especially around children. They love it!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:4-8 (NKJV)

 

Solid As A Rock

 

To me, forty-eight years of marriage to the same man is worth celebrating. So is the man himself! We celebrated our first wedding anniversary at a laundromat in Jacksonville, North Carolina somewhere near Camp Geiger. Humble beginnings and happy hearts can take you a long way, but God has promised to take us all the way. (It’s easier when you’re cooperating with Him.)

Other anniversaries have been more costly, but love can’t be measured by the price tag on the celebration. We were just as happy at that laundromat as we were in the Caribbean.

There have been plenty of bumpy spots along the way, most of them were me tripping uphill. But we’ve come through the thick and the thin, his long military career, his almost as long police career, many moves and ups and downs with children and grandchildren, all glory to God and the patience He’s continuously pouring into my husband, Dave.

There are small things and great things to celebrate about my man. The main things are that he loves Jesus  first and he loves me second. His selfless acts of kindness and thoughtfulness should win him the husband of the year award every single year. Above is a picture of two stones that mean nothing to anyone else, but I’ll cherish them. This is the type of thing that makes my heart giggle, it feels like Dave is tickling my heart from the inside out when he does things like this. And he does them all the time!

While driving this past summer on journeys far and wide, Dave is the main driver; I’m the navigator. He’s always my dependable driver. With GPS on my phone, it’s pretty easy to be the navigator now. Back in the day, when paper maps were all the rage and impossible to refold, I got us lost plenty of times. We’re not fast while walking, hiking or driving, but we get there. We call ourselves the Ground Coverings, because – well, we’re covering ground.

Cruising down the road, I admire most everything along the way. Oooo – look at that tree! Oh, look at those flowers! And plenty of questions that neither Dave nor I know the answers to. Fortunately, our phones are smarter than we are, so we direct our questions to some magical voice in our phones that seems to know most everything.

While driving somewhere between northeast Tennessee and northeast Ohio, I was admiring the cliffs towering to either side of us, rising up into the brilliant sunshine. In my ramblings, I mentioned that it would be cool to feel the rock they’re made of (I’m a tactile kinda gal) and within seconds, Dave slowed down and pulled over – just so I could jump out of the car and feel the cliffside. That’s where I snatched up these stones. These are what those cliffs are made of. I imagine it’s some type of slate. But they sit here on my desk to remind me that on occasion, Dave may get on my nerves (as all spouses do), but he loves me like no one else can. Yep – God put that love for me in his heart. I have no doubt that we’ll be together till death do us part. 

(The flowering tree pods came from an impromptu roadside stop, as well.)

Happy Anniversary, Babe! I love you forever and always.