The Key to Happiness

"It's not about you."

That first sentence in The Purpose Driven Life could be a whole book by itself.

The more I learn about life and about how to live it, the more I'm coming to realize the whole key to happiness is perspective. Our perspective completely controls us and determines how we act and react to the events around us.

Events are neither good nor bad---it's all in the perspective of the one affected.

Consider this scenario: An apple falls from a tree. Is that bad or good?

To the apple farmer looking up into the empty tree, an apple falling is the sign of birds or disease attacking his livelihood. He shakes his head, asking why God would allow such a thing.

But an apple falling into the hands of a hungry little boy beneath the tree is a miracle.

It's all about perspective.

The first step in the pursuit of happiness is realizing that It's not about me. When we view life events from a human perspective, the world can seem a dark and scary place, filled with potential tragedy. When tough times come, we're tempted to rail at God: How could you let this happen? I thought you loved me!

Everyone has been there. But that line of questioning only leads to anger because the focus is wrong. The question presupposes that I am the center of my universe. 

.

When we shift from a me-centered outlook to a God-centered one, and choose to view life events as opportunities specially designed for us by our loving Father, everything changes.

.

When we understand  that His purpose in everything is to draw us to Him and make us more like his perfect Son, life starts to make sense. When we begin to view life from God's perspective, many of the issues that so puzzled us before now have reason. They may be difficult, but they're not pointless.

An eleven-year-old child lying in a coma with a life-altering brain injury looks like a terrible thing. When the doctors shake their heads and tell you not to hope for much, it's easy to wonder if God is paying attention. If she lived, she would be forever handicapped. From a human perspective, this was not for the best.

But from God's perspective, He was giving a little girl and her family the unique opportunity to grow. He had allowed hurt to accomplish greater good so that she would draw closer to him and to live out her teen years, not in typical self-centered rebellion, but in devotion to God and others.

Her injury has matured our daughter Susie and deepened her faith like nothing else would have. At 20, she still deals with daily pain and limitations, but she has a passion for God and others that radiates from her life and impacts many for his kingdom. We also had to grow through this and learn to trust that our Father knows what we need and will provide it. Her injury is a very good thing--designed especially for us to achieve the eternal benefits God wanted for us.

When we learn to view every situation from God's perspective, life no longer seems so cruel and unfair. No amount of "putting the best face on it" or "trying to see the bright side" heals a heart that life has crushed. It is only when I learn to trust that nothing can happen to me without my Father's express approval and for a specific purpose that life begins to make sense.

.

How Do You Know It's God?

Picture a large herd of identical Angus cows and calves. In one corner of the field, all the baby calves lie in a group, left in the care of a single cow, while the mamas graze all over the pasture.

From across the pasture, one black cow lifts her head, sniffs the wind, looks over her back, and bawls toward the nursery.

Instantly, one little calf pops up, stretches, and bawls back before scampering across the pasture. He heard his mama's voice.

I always wondered: How do they know? All those cows look and sound alike. All the calves look identical, too. How does that cow know her calf's cry from all the others? How does that baby, only a few weeks old, recognize one cow's moo?

Sometimes I'm asked, "How do you know when it's God speaking to you? I hear a lot of voices in my head. How can you tell it's Him?"

The answer is in the pasture. That baby calf knows his mama's voice because of the relationship. He's spent every waking minute by the side of that mama cow. He's heard her low moo, knows the sound of her teeth tearing grass, loves the familiar scent of her hide and her milk. He's been nudged by her when he wasn't moving, licked by her when he was dirty, fed, cleaned and loved by her. So it's natural that when her voice calls out, he recognizes it.

The same is true in the spiritual world. Jesus told his followers, "My sheep hear my voice."

We learn to recognize God's voice by spending time in His presence.

Anyone can claim "God told me," but there are some truths we should all remember:

1. God's personal communication with a believing heart will NEVER contradict his written Word in Scripture.

2. God's voice is only heard by His sheep. He does call and convict unbelievers, but His personal instruction is for those He already calls his children. Without a relationship, there's no basis for communication.

3. Learning to hear God takes practice. "Be still and know that I am God." Hearing God requires a stillness of heart and a willingness to lay your heart bare before him, rather than the constant dictating of our desires that we erroneously call "prayer."

4. God's voice often comes through Scripture. So often as I've been praying about specific situations, a Scripture verse will pop into my head. I would never have thought to connect that particular verse with my situation, but there it is. God's answer.

Before you decide whether or not God is speaking to you, ask yourself:

• Do I know for certain that I belong to God?


• Do I know enough of His word to tell whether or not this idea could be from him?


• Does this thought in any way contradict Scriptural principles?

God has a lot to say to those willing to listen.

Get your heart ready so you can hear it.

.

Is This the End?

Read my blog slogan slowly and think about it for a minute. What does it mean to you?

I first heard this phrase at a writer's conference a few years ago. It was like being hit by a lightning bolt. A successful author was speaking to a roomful of writers, talking about the different paths our lives can take when we are open to God's leading.

I was still in a dazed shock from a combination of my daughter's betrayal and having landed my first literary agent only a month earlier. My settled life of the past 20 years was suddenly veering in a new direction and I had that deer-in-the-headlights feeling.

My daughter's betrayal of everything I'd spent my adult life trying to instill in her had left me devastated. Had my life been some cosmic joke? Had I missed God all along? Was I a failure?

Those words pierced my heart like a spear. God was speaking to me. My life had come to a screeching dead end as I questioned everything I thought I believed, everything I'd committed my life to. Was it all for nothing? My first child out of the chute had made a mockery of everything I stood for. I had three more kids. Should I give up? Let them raise themselves? Forget trying to do something for God?

Was this the end?

It would have been had I failed to make the turn. That night I sat frozen through the rest of the talk, hearing only God's whisper inside my head. "Keep going. Don't stop. It's not the end. Only the beginning."

He was right. I had no idea the fulfilling life had had waiting for me just ahead.

Since then I watch for those bends and approach them with more confidence. There are no Dead End signs when you walk with God.

Only turns.

Be sure you make the turn.

.

Stop Treading

A father held his one-year-old daughter in the swimming pool as her legs kicked and churned in the water. Her eyes were saucers and her cheeks turned pink with exertion as those little legs pumped frantically. The lower in the water her daddy let her go, the harder she churned.

"She thinks she's keeping herself afloat," he laughed. "She's wearing herself out treading so hard, and she doesn't realize she'd be perfectly safe to just relax in my arms."

How many times am I that daughter? Challenges, problems, fears attack from all sides and I churn and thrash, trying to figure it out, stop the disaster, fix the problem. When it resolves, I'm exhausted and like that tiny child, I think it was my efforts that kept me afloat.

I can imagine my Heavenly Father chuckling at me. "Why don't you relax and trust me? Your efforts wouldn't be enough to solve this dilemma, even if I needed them. I can do this without you. Just relax and enjoy the water."

How about you?

Are you treading fast? Are you wearing yourself out thinking you alone can keep things afloat?

Try handing it all to your Father and relaxing in his arms. He will have work for you to do, but the results won't be your responsibility. He has a plan and your job is to settle into it and let Him do it through you.

Stop treading!

.

Noelle's Ark

Lessons From a Floating Zoo

I mean no disrespect to the Biblical patriarch Noah, but I’ve always been more curious about what his wife thought of the project that took forever to complete, cluttered up the yard, and seemed completely useless at the time.

We have no record that God spoke to the missus when he directed her husband to build the Astrodome of boats. What must she have thought? Was she as spiritual as her husband or was she the trusting sort who hoped he’d get it out of his system and move on to something else?

Noah’s wife—let’s call her Noelle—garners only a brief mention, and then it’s in reference to her husband. But she was a person too, and like any wife, crucial to the success of her husband’s mission.

So what can we in the twenty-first century learn from Noah’s wife?

1. Don’t squash your partner’s dreams.

This boat-building project was between Noah and his God. Alone. Although the three sons were later involved in the work and eventual salvation from the Flood, they had nothing but their father’s word that this was an inspired endeavor.

Along with being a stand-up guy and superbly righteous, Noah must have been a great dad. How many sons would spend a hundred years helping their father with a project that seemed pointless? Just because he asked them to. That says a great deal about the kind of man Noah was.

.

And his wife must have supported that. Even if she never had the vision herself, she supported his. No power-struggles. No criticizing Dad’s dream. Noelle’s response to her husband’s project may have been the chief reason all three sons joined them on the ark. In supporting her husband, she also saved her family and the future of the human race.

2. Watch where you step!

Imagine sharing your home with that many animals! None of them housebroken and no yard to send them to. Imagine the smell! Imagine spending over a year cooped up with braying, honking, quacking, bellowing beasts of every kind. That would be enough to send most women over the edge of the boat.

Noelle must have had a spine (and a nose) of steel and a faith as strong as her husband’s. Once the first raindrops started, she must have looked at her man as though he was God himself.

So he was right all along! God really did speak to him!

How thankful she must have been that she hadn’t fussed at him for the last hundred years. She’d supported his project, believed in his vision, and trusted his relationship with God even though she may not have been privy to the conversation. She’d kept her foot out of her mouth and was quite thankful when that boat began to rise. She was careful where she stepped when it came to his convictions and God blessed her for it.

3. Your house doesn’t have to be perfect all the time.

What a pig pen! Literally. Four men and three daughters-in-law to pick up after—not to mention all those smelly beasts—could make a woman crazy before the rain had stopped. Most women like their nests kept in some sort of order. But since there were no neighbors to drop by unexpectedly and no town gossips to spread the word—Did you see Noelle’s boat yesterday? What a mess!”—she did the best she could and then let it go.

.

This was God’s house, existing for His purposes. So there were bear droppings in the hall and the parrots were chattering night and day. The family was together, they were safe, and they were right where God put them. She could live with that.

The next time your spouse gives you a sheepish look and says, “Honey, I believe God’s leading me somewhere, but I’m not sure how you’ll take it,” remember Noelle. Maybe the survival of the human race doesn’t depend on your attitude, but when God’s talking, you don’t want to get in the way.

Whose Show Is It?

• She jerked to her feet and stalked out. Session over. Relationship over.

-----------------        -----------------------              ------------------------

• The sky outside was dark and rain pelted against the windows. I stared out at the empty parking lot where a new client's car should be. Nothing. Stood up. Again. I'd come out in the rain, to an empty building for a client who did not show.

----------------------   ------------------------    --------------------------

Circumstances can be quite convincing if we give them voice. Their conclusions come without invitation:

• This was a bad idea.
• You're doing something wrong.
• You should quit.

That would be good advice if it was my show. If what I do all day was my choice, my creation, and the source of my pride and self-worth, I should be listening to those opinions.

But it's not. My life is no longer the Lea Ann Show.

When it was, I had nothing but external circumstances to help me determine whether I was on the right track. But  I've dedicated my life to the glory of God and it is no longer my show. The results are no longer my concern. The only question at the end of the day is: Lord, was I as obedient to You today as I know how to be?

.

What about you? Why are you doing what you do every day?
.

We get so bogged down, our faces to the dirt, white-knuckling our way through life. It's easy to forget why we're doing any of it. Life is easily reduced to a series of choices, putting one foot after the other, grappling with one problem after another, slapping at potential tragedies before they have a chance to take over. It's all about me, right? It's all about surviving and avoiding the most pain.

.

That's one way to do it, but I don't recommend it.

.

Too often we think we're responsible for the results, when in fact, we're not big enough to control the results.What looks like disaster to us could very well be the perfect plan of God.

When we choose to "do everything for the glory of God" (I Cor. 10:31) we have the confidence that no matter how it may appear to others, God is very pleased with our efforts. He is delighting in us and there is no greater reward than basking in the smile of God.

.

Have you dedicated your daily tasks to Him? Do you look at grading papers, washing dishes, arresting people, or digging trenches as an assignment from the Lord God Almighty? If you are His child, then everything you do is His concern.

Do it for Him today. Dedicate the rest of the day to His control and at the end of it, thank Him for how it turned out. If you did it for Him alone, then know that He is pleased. Bask in his pleasure. Soak up the rays of His joy as He looks at you and the job you did for Him.

If you were obedient, then you did well. The results are His concern. He'll take it from there.

It's not your show. It's His.Remembering that is the only way to truly enjoy it.

.

.

Painful trimming

(Re-posted. New posts coming soon.)

Yankee hates grooming time. She starts to shake when she hears the water running and tries to hide in impossible-to-find places---like the couch. (There's not a lot of gray matter underneath that ponytail.)

.

And toenails are the worst. She fights me the whole time. One little nudge in the wrong place and she yelps like I'd cut her leg off--eight pounds of insulted outrage.

.

As I wrestled with her today, snipping off nails that were curling under from lack of trimming, I thought about how like her I often am when God needs to trim off unnecessary things in my life. I fight and yelp, tuck my treasures underneath me, hoping he can't spot them. But He knows if left untrimmed, they'll grow until they hamper my walk with Him.

.

The next time I feel that urging in my spirit, that gentle nudge that tells me I need a trim, I'll think of Yankee. Her regular grooming is crucial for her to stay healthy, happy, and a welcome addition to our family. If she only understood that, she wouldn't fight so hard. It really doesn't hurt; she's just afraid it will.

.

God's grooming of our lives, habits, and desires really doesn't hurt, either. We just think it will. But if we stop fighting Him, we'll be so much better for it.

.

What might God want to trim from your life?

Is some attitude growing out of control?

Is there some drive that doesn't lead you closer to Him?

What about a passion that you've decided to keep tucked safely out of His reach because He might trim it off?

.

Remember Yankee. It's for your own good. Stop fighting.

.

New Website!

I've been extremely busy this past week--thus no new posts! I finished a certification program and am now a Divorce and Family Mediator.

I have also just about completed work on my new counseling website. Hop on over here and take a look.

Thanks for stopping by. New posts to come.
.

Are You A Bumper Sticker?

Saw an interesting sight today.

A little red pickup idled in front of me at the stoplight. The back glass and tailgate were plastered with bumper stickers complaining about our government, spouting anti-American sentiment, and decrying foreigners taking American jobs. The driver's opinions were loud and clear. But as he pulled away, I had to laugh. The pickup was made by Toyota.

It made me think.

How many times are we quick to shout our opinions and defend our value system, while making life choices that cause others to wonder if we mean it? It is no longer unusual to read of a Family Values Politician being forced out of office because of an illicit affair. Or a left-leaning legislator with his finger in the profits of an overseas sweat-shop.

Wouldn't it be great if every one of us lived exactly what we said we believed? What if we never had to voice our opinions because our daily choices clearly reflected our heart values?

Jesus told his disciples that the world "will know you are Christians by your love."

Is that what we Christians are known for now? Or do our anti-everything slogans define us? Have we gained the reputation for being all talk and no show?

Jesus also said, "You are my disciples if you do what I command you."

He didn't say much about angry marches, shouting matches, or Bible thumping. He had a lot to say to the religious elite who spouted self-righteous jargon while oppressing the poor. I wonder how much of that ancient Pharisaical attitude has crept back into modern life?

How about your life?

Are you so busy defining what you're against and what others should do that you've neglected to take a hard look at your own selfish tendencies?

Be sure you're not a bold-faced bumper sticker on a Toyota.

The Unwelcome Friend

“You’re back.”

“You thought I wouldn’t be?”

She was in my sun, the sun I’d earned. I wished she’d move.

“Are you ready to talk?”

“No.” I inched sideways and decided to ignore her. After all, she was invisible to everyone else.

.
She plopped down beside me and little sand crystals showered my skin. Irritating. Like her.

“Let’s get it over with,” she said and sounded as irritated as I was. “You know you shouldn’t be here. This is wrong. You’re running away. What should we do about it?”

I hated these talks. She was so persistent, like a gnat that couldn’t be swatted. No drug could silence her, no drink drown her out. The moment the artificial solution wore off, there she was, annoying me, making things worse. I wished she would vanish forever and let me enjoy myself.

.
For a blissful moment, I imagined basking in my own sun, doing as I pleased without her bothersome nagging. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But I don’t need you this time. Now, leave.”

That patronizing chuckle. “Not good enough. I can’t leave yet. He sent me because He cares about you. If I don’t stay, you’re gonna get yourself in big trouble.”

She stretched out beside me, looking out over the same whitecaps I saw, but I knew she wasn’t enjoying them. I wasn’t either.

She turned to study me with that probing look she had. “Believe me, if you’d shape up, no one would be happier than I would. It’s no fun being at odds with you all the time. But this is my job and I’m good at it.”

“I ran here to get away from you. Why won’t you leave me alone?” Anger mushroomed like a cloud. Righteous anger. I was a good person, better than most. She didn’t have the right to bug me so often. Did she bug other people like this?

The silence stretched so long I thought she had gone, but when I turned my head I could see her shadow across the sand. She hadn’t moved.

.

In a voice so soft I could barely hear, she asked, “Do you honestly want me to go away and never return? You know what that would mean, don’t you?”

.

An unwelcome vision flashed across my mind, blocking out the rest of the sun but bringing a light of its own. Her presence, unwelcome at times, had kept me from wrong decisions, destructive relationships, habits and addictions. Whenever I got to a crossroads, there she was, bugging me. Sometimes loudly. Too loud to ignore.

“No,” I sighed. “I guess I need you. You’re annoying, but life without you would be unbearable. I’ll do as you say and…tell Him thanks.”

She helped me to my feet. “All right then, follow me.”

.

Has God Won the Popular Vote?

(Due to extreme busyness, I am running a previous post from last year. Thanks for stopping by.)

God is popular these days.

.

Oprah talks about him; He's explored and discussed on the Discovery Channel; movie stars displaying varying degrees of sanity invoke his name at will, and most winners of prestigious awards end up thanking him at some point, lifting their trophy to the ceiling as though the Almighty One they had ignored all year was winking down on their success.
.

Yet, the news is filled with continual public arguments when anyone wants to actually include him in society. Try to have the Ten Commandments displayed in a public place. Ask to have the story of Creation displayed alongside the far-fetched tribal beliefs and evolutionary theories at zoos or museums and righteous indignation fills the city."Whose God are you talking about?" they cry.
.

So how can the concept of God be so popular and UN-popular at the same time?
.

The answer is easy. Humanity loves the concept of God, but trembles in horror at the reality of Him. We worship a god of our own making. The characteristics of Jehovah, as outlined in the Bible, don't always fit with who we'd like God to be. So we ignore that part. It can't be real. We must have misunderstood.
.

The popular vision of God portrays Him as a fluffy little cupid who watches over us all, eventually overlooks whatever he doesn't like, and sweeps us all to Heaven to become angels. After all, that's what a LOVING God would do, and above all, our God must be loving. Only loving. Not righteous. Not holy. Not vengeful for any reason. And never intolerant.
.
Tolerance is the Pop-god's platform, the mantra being "All paths lead to god." And that's absolutely correct. All those paths do lead to the same god, and eventually the same end. Because any god of human creation is not really God at all.
.
I couldn't worship and fear a god I created. He would be as flawed as I am. He would not require enough of me. Besides, any god who would accept our confoluted idea of him isn't God at all. It's a human-concocted fantasy.
.
Our mission during our short span on this earth is to discover just who this entity is, not to try to re-create him in our image. To fall short of this goal is the ultimate failure and can never be undone.
.
More damaging than atheism is the concept that God can be re-defined at the whim of humanity. That God can be both defamed and claimed in the same breath--and doesn't mind at all. That God has no interest in right and wrong, except when it concerns those issues important to the human in question. That God's opinions change with society's opinions--He's a real cool dude!
.
Beware of the current popularity of God. The God of the Bible has never been more unpopular. Jesus was not popular with the rich and famous when he walked the earth, because he called them names and told them they were hypocrites. They were even willing to stoop to murder to stop him. Shut him up! He is messing with our idea of God!
.
Nothing has changed. Mankind continually re-invents gods of their liking and pretends we are all talking about the same God. We're not. The next time you hear someone talk about their "faith in God," don't accept their words at face value. Dig a little deeper and find out which one he is. There is a good chance you have never met their god and they have never known yours..
.

Forwarned

"You're going to need to be more than a counselor to him."
.
The words were like cement blocks, sturdy, unmovable, coming to rest in my spirit with the certainty of having been placed there. I knew who they concerned, but what did they mean exactly?
.
As I finished my morning routine, I sorted through several options. Inviting him for the holidays? Over for dinner? Nothing seemed to fit.
.
"I'm open, Lord, but I don't know what you mean."
.
"He longs for a family, a sense of importance, to know someone values him. You can show him how much I value him."
.
My youngest client's needs were great, but I had to be careful not to violate boundaries. Stepping outside the client/counselor role was not comfortable. Not even advisable. To approach a relationship outside the counseling room was not a good idea. Maybe God didn't understand that.
.
Two hours later, his name was on my caller ID. He had a need I could meet. He had no one else. It was a need a friend would meet. What family should do for each other.
.
I smiled into the sky. "I get it. I'll do it. Thanks for the two-hour lead time."
.
Isn't it nice when God prepares us ahead of time for a task we might otherwise refuse? Isn't it amazing how He just thinks of everything?


.

Prepare To Die...

(Another rerun. I'll get on the ball soon, I promise!)

The Princess Bride is one of our family's all time favorite movies. My toddlers could quote whole scenes before they could read.

One of the most memorable lines from the movie is when Montoya rehearses what he'll say when he finally finds the six-fingered man. He's lived for this moment and dreams of facing his enemy to tell him "...you killed my father. Prepare to die." He knows that his enemy will have no defense and the outcome is assured.


But how do you prepare to die when a sword is at your throat? It's a little late for preparation. The time is already over for any last-minute words, final farewells, or righting wrongs.


So how does one prepare to die and is it important?


The first half of our lives is usually spent frantically preparing for the second half. We often don't realize that life is already happening while we're getting ready for it. School, work, hobbies, family--so much clamors for our attention we often don't think past getting that promotion, finding a bigger house, getting the bills paid, and raising the kids.


But in truth, those things are the present, not the future. How much of it is going to count when it's all over? How much time have you spent preparing to die?


When my father was diagnosed with cancer, he was told he had only a few months to live. We took a walk the day he sold his treasured farm. Side by side we strolled across the fields he'd spent a lifetime plowing and harvesting. His long legs had always outpaced mine, but this day, I slowed so he could keep up.
.

We stopped at the top of a hill and he turned to me, his breath labored and his face pale. The valley below us was bursting with spring color and although neither of us said it, we both knew that this would be his last spring.


"Does it make you sad?" I asked. "You've sold your farm and everything you've spent your life building. For pennies. You love this farm."


He shook his head and leaned against a tree for support. "Nah," he said with his customary ease and spread his arms wide. "Nah, it's just stuff, you know? Just stuff. None of it matters. Mama will be taken care of and that's all that I care about. No, what matters is what I'm leaving behind that will count for all eternity. What makes me sad is that I still had so much to do for the Lord, and now I can't. But he knows best."


I knew in that moment as I looked at his sunken face that he had not only taught me how to live, my father had taught me how to die.


Preparing to die doesn't happen in the moments before you leave earth. It's a lifelong preparation and to do it well, you have to start early. My father had spent most of his adult life preparing to die by the way he lived. His celebration in Heaven is that much more joyous because of what he'd sent on ahead.

How much of your life has been spent preparing to die? If you know Jesus Christ as Savior, you know where you're going. But will it be like going home? Or will you feel like stranger showing up at someone else's house? I've come to believe that our relationship with God on earth has great impact on our future in Heaven.

Montoya's words are a reminder to us that we have the opportunity every day to prepare to die. What will you take with you? What will you leave behind that will continue to count for eternity? Or has your life been a collection of "stuff" that won't matter the moment you take your last breath?

God has the right to look at each of us and say, "You killed my Son. Prepare to die." But He graciously gives us so many chances to prepare ourselves before that final accounting. Is your life bringing Him glory now, or is that for "some day?" Have you learned to seek him now or are you waiting for some vague point in the future when it will be more convenient?


You've been given the opportunity to prepare to die. Don't waste it.


.

Family vacation 2010 is in the history books.

Another mini-vacation this year. With 5 of us running in different directions, anything longer requires the scheduling skills of an air traffic controller. THANKFULLY this one was much better than last year! Click here if you dare!


Ran down to Six Flags Over Texas and did a lot of walking, a lot of sweating, a lot of waiting in line, a little bit of "why did we do this?" but all-in-all it was fine. Susie's leg couldn't take it and we had to rent her a wheelchair (which I coveted passionately the rest of the day.)






One thing struck me as we passed nameless human faces by the truckload: there are a lot of people in the world. I mean, A LOT! How is it possible that God loves each one of us personally?
.
Crowds are just crowds to me. I don't see people. I see bodies, colors, hairstyles, arms and legs to be avoided. Just masses. I don't think of each one as unique and precious, valuable to God. When I'm part of a crowd, I just see a crowd.
.
But God doesn't.
.
He sees the crying five-year-old and His heart hurts. He sees the multi-pierced teenager with his pants sagging on the ground and knows the heartache that started it all. He walks beside the Chinese family with the bewildered expressions and the old man who looks lost. He knows in a heartbeat which of those thousands are His children and which ones still need to find Him.
.
When Jesus gazed out over the crowds that followed him, He didn't see crowds. He was filled with compassion for them and he worked past weariness healing crippled legs, twisted arms, and broken hearts.
.
I'm glad God sees us as individuals, not as part of a crowd. Maybe I should try a little harder to do the same.
.

Welcome to My Garage Sale!

Isn't this an exciting pile of junk?

I'll bet you have some just like it.

Yep, I'm having my annual garage sale this weekend. I always dread it. I'm always glad when it's over every year. And every year, I wonder if I'll really go through with it again next May.


But I do, because I'm cheap and greedy and I know how much money is invested in all that junk and I can't bear to part with it without at least some token of reimbursement.


Isn't it amazing how much clutter we accumulate? Then we have to build bigger houses to hold it all and work extra hard to afford that bigger house so that we're never home to enjoy any of it.

And most of it we told ourselves we really needed. Probably paid more for it than it was worth and now, there it sits--used, broken junk in a dusty garage, on sale for pennies.

I think this is what God had in mind when he warns us not to store up for ourselves treasures on earth. It looks like a treasure when it's all bright and shiny and smells new. But more quickly than we can imagine, it joins the rest of the junk cluttering up our lives and stealing our affections.

When it comes time to weigh your treasures, will they be nothing but a pile of dusty junk? Have you invested more of your life than you should chasing breakables?

God's investment plan can begin the moment you want it to. "Store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven" by "seeking first the Kingdom of God." God doesn't have garage sales because his treasure continues to grow in value throughout eternity.

But, if you insist on accumulating more breakables, then come on over tomorrow! I've got some deals for ya!
.

Would You Please Be Still!

Do you have a spot like this?

Do have a place where you can escape the clamour of your life for a few moments and just BE.

When did the desire for solitude become a sin? Who decided that this generation must go at breakneck speed day and night to be considered worthwhile?

When did "busy" become a virtue?

And most importantly: When did God's people start to believe the lie?

Psalm 46 is a command from God: "Be still, and know that I am God..."

If we must be still to know that He is God, it stands to reason that we must forget that when we are too busy.

"But what I'm doing is important!" you argue. "I'm in full-time Christian work! I don't have time to sit still!"

"...my kids keep me on the go constantly..."

"...I don't have time to eat, much less sit still for any length of time..."

We have all kinds of rationalizations for why that verse does not apply to us, but no one is exempt. It's not a nice thought; it's a direct command from God.

The simple truth is, busyness and constant activity shove our awareness of the greatness of God to the background of our minds while we race from point to point on our mad missions.

I find the second half of the verse explains the first half, but we rarely read past the colon. God goes on to say, "I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Notice how God doesn't seem concerned about getting His job done? He can be exalted all over the earth whether you stop or not. In fact, He will be more greatly glorified when you stop every day, take a long breath, and just be STILL. Center your thoughts, realign your priorities, remember Who you're working for and how short the time is.

Are your frenzied activities having any eternal significance? Will what you're stressed about today matter in ten years?

God is glorified every moment of every day for all eternity. It's an ongoing celebration--and you're missing it!

Be still. Listen. Pray. Think. Offer thanks. And a little taste of that glory will fill your senses, flood your soul and give you strength to carry on, reminded that you're not really so vital after all. God doesn't need your frantic pace to accomplish his work here on earth, but He would like you to join Him in a quiet cup of tea every day and stay acquainted.

Be still. Know that He is God.

Will I Ever Get it Right?

Well, Babe was at it again.

.

Just when we thought we could trust her to stay within our fenced 2 1/2 acres while we were outside with her, she vanished. Like a puff of smoke--one minute we see her romping through the tall grass and the next, she is gone.

.

After calling in vain for 15 minutes, I was ready to find a recipe for Irish Setter stew.

.

She made her appearance a couple of hours later, on the front porch, tongue lolling, smelling of pond water, sticker burrs embedded in her fur, and refusing to make eye contact. She's not the brightest bulb on the string, but she knew she was in trouble.

.

She took her scolding and banishment to the backyard without the usual indignant bark and sulked under the trampoline until we had calmed down.

.

I found her escape hole in the fence and fixed it, muttering uncomplimentary dog insults all the while.

.

"We can't trust her anymore," Micah announced. "She doesn't get to go out the front door ever again."

.

I agreed. For a while.

.

Then those saggy, pleading eyes got to me. "We'll try it," I said. "I'll watch her like a hawk."

.

We did. She never ventured near the escape hole. She watched us with eager eyes as though hoping she was doing right this time. Every few minutes, she would interrupt her romp to come charging back to us, eager for praise--which she got.

.

She could disappoint us again, we're aware of that. But as long as she's trying, she deserves another chance to get it right.

.

Do you owe someone in your life a second chance? Or a third, fourth or fifth chance? Babe's just a dimwitted dog, but even in her, I sense an eagerness to earn our forgiveness. She wants a chance to prove she can do it and be praised and loved for it.

.

People are the same way. How quickly we give up on them, turn our heads and shrug: "Well, if that's how you are, forget it. You don't deserve my attention. You've blown it."

.

I'm thankful God never says that to me. I mess up over and over, sometimes on the same things, but he's always there to pick me up, point me in the right direction, and offer complete confidence that this time I can do it.

.

Babe's still getting her daily romps as long as she stays within the guidelines. And as long as we're seeking to please God, he offers us as many chances as it takes to succeed.

.

Have you given up on yourself in some area? Decided you'll never get it right, so why try? Is there someone in your life who needs another chance from you?

.

God hasn't given up on any of us, so we don't have the right to give up either. If Babe can do it, anyone can!

.

Till death? Maybe.

Today my hubby and I celebrated 25 years together. Silver anniversary, they call it. Sounds old. So does "quarter of a century."

We celebrated it with a spa day for both of us. I'm so relaxed right now I can hardly type!

When my pedicurist learned the reason I was there, her brown eyes widened. "Wow! Twenty-five years. I don't think I know anybody who's been married twenty-five years."

She was in her early thirties, with an eight-year-old daughter to raise alone. I watched the top of her shiny brown hair as she worked on my feet and felt sad for her.

What kind of a legacy are we leaving this next generation that they haven't seen a successful marriage?

Marriage is now touted as a quaint ritual for the "traditionally-minded," a gamble at best, but certainly not "until death do us part." And don't get me started on the "new definitions" that some would like to give marriage, as though the legal joining of any two entities should define what was clearly created to be only between one man and one woman.

So with all the argument, wouldn't it be better to just live together? Wouldn't the eventual split be easier on everyone?

That last question holds the key to the problem. We've come to assume that nothing lasts forever, and unfortunately not much does. Everyone knows products fall apart quicker than they used to. Families join, break apart, rejoin, move...a continuous evolution that often ignores bonds and hearts.

No wonder it's nearly impossible for many to get their minds around the concept of God and eternity. After all, marriage was God's object lesson to help us understand his relationship with us. It's a picture of the everlasting love Christ has for his church. Looks like we're messing up the picture.

How can we truly believe that God loves us for all eternity when we don't have any concept of a relationship that endures forever?

So look around this week. Do you know many couples who've been successfully married for nearly forever? Next time you see one, tell them "Thanks for the picture."
.

Where Was God?

This is a difficult post to write, but it's what is on my heart. Maybe you needed to read it today.

As part of my preparation to be a counselor, I've been studying childhood sexual abuse and the life-long damage it causes. I noticed the past couple of days I've felt a little down, as though God had drifted away somewhere. Today as I was praying about the reason, I knew.

I walked to the woods as images of helpless children abused by the adults who were supposed to protect them flitted through my mind. The grief was so great that tears began to drip down my face. I thought of future clients who will struggle to understand, who will look at me and ask, "Where was God?"

"What do I tell them, God?" I asked the clear blue sky as the tears continued to flow. "What do I say when the tortured eyes of a victim pleads for an answer? It's a good question. Where were you?"

The birds continued to sing their carefree songs and the wind touched my hair as I waited for an answer. "I need to know, God. Before I go into that counseling room and face a question too big for me. I need to hear your answer."

Instead, the tears continued to course down my cheeks and make dusty plops on the forest floor. Why was I crying? My heart twisted with a pain that wasn't mine---and then I understood.

The tears weren't mine, either. God wasn't telling me his answer; He was showing me. The tears that dripped unbidden down my cheeks were his tears. The pain of every victim was his pain. I had prayed to have His heart, to know His thoughts, to feel what He felt for every person He brings into my life. This was his answer.

"You were there," I whispered to the clear blue sky. "You were also there when they tortured and murdered your Son. And your heart twisted like mine is doing, but you allowed it anyway because you want to bring beauty from ashes. You want to redeem, to purify, to bring new life to a deadened soul. No wonder you hate sin so bad. It hurts you too."

The tears dried and once again I could worship a God who hated the pain more than I did.

I now have my answer when the time comes. It won't be words, or a quick fix. I can do nothing to erase the memories, the pain, the shame.
But maybe I can show them God's heart.
.

Are You Hiding?

"I'm not ready."

"Yes, you are."

No...but..."

"You'll never know enough. You can't help anybody, but I can and I need you to stop hiding and get out there."

Such was the conversation the Lord and I had Sunday evening.

.

I've spent an intense 4 1/2 months training for my lay-counseling certification and have learned more than I imagined I could. Of course there are places you can find which offer you a "paper" for a simple how-to course, but I wanted much more than that and the Lord directed me to the perfect school for me. It's deep, it's intense, it's full of incredible spiritual revelations, and when I realized I could continue on in the Master's degree classes for free, I decided to do that too. After all, you can't learn too much. Right? These are people's LIVES I'm dealing with. Can't be overly prepared. Right?

.

All well and good, but the problem was, I was putting off gaining the actual paper--which I could do at any time--and get going with the ministry. I hadn't realized that's what I was doing, but the Lord made it pretty clear. "You are hiding. You are waiting until YOU feel secure and I don't want you like that. I need your weakness, not your strength."

.

I stopped my prayer, went downstairs, and ordered the one certification class that was lacking. The next day, my pastor called.

.

"Got someone I need you to talk to."

.

"But...I'm not ready..."

.

"You can do it."

.

I could feel the Lord nudging me from behind. Probably smiling.

.

How many other times have I hidden myself, just as Adam and Eve did in the garden? We hide behind our weaknesses, our frailties, our insecurities, arguing with the Lord, certain he can't mean what we think he means.

.

"I'm not good enough..."

"I'm not smart enough..."

"That's for other people who can do better than I..."

All through history, God has called the least likely individuals to do the greatest work for him. Gideon and his measly army; Rahab, the town whore; that crazy, unkempt wild man they called John the Baptist. God delights in taking our inability and doing great things with it.

It's our abilities that get us in trouble with Pride.

The counseling session went just as the Holy Spirit wanted it to go, because I had to rely completely on him. I think that's what the Lord had in mind all along.

So what are you hiding from? What gentle nudging do you feel in the back of your spirit? The one you've successfully tramped down until now, covered with your reasonable excuses, and tried to ignore because you're just "not ready."

If you don't feel ready, you're probably right where God wants you. Come out, come out, wherever you are. Stop hiding. You're missing the game.