A Labor Of Love

A labor or love....
When I was a young teenager I prayed that when I grew up, I would have many friends of different ethnicities. Why? Because growing up in a predominantly white area, I always adored the things that made different cultures unique and diverse as a young child; it wasn’t until I got a little older that I seen how cruel some people were treated based on something so beautifully different and yet so insignificant as skin color, or race, or gender, or sexuality. To me I saw beauty in our differences and I wanted my family to wholeheartedly love and embrace people from every culture... to see them as God sees them beautifully made, flawlessly loved, and perfectly chosen. I wanted my kids to see how beautiful God made each of us, and designed us to complement each other and to blend and enrich each other’s lives. God heard those tender innocent prayers and gave BIRTH to something even greater than I could have even imagined. It was a beautiful labor of love to instill in my children and future generations unconditional love to all people. I now have friends all over the world, that are more precious than life itself to me. I love them like family. My kids get to grow up knowing people for who they truly are which once again has shown me racism is something that is learned. When I see unjustifiable actions and unspeakable hate crimes I get infuriated and cry out to our Heavenly Father on all of our behalf because as far as I can see we are one. I hurt when they hurt and I pray with every breath that is in me that this generation will be the change. Lord heal our land and our broken hearts. Unite us in YOUR LOVE.

The Key To Successful Relationships

Have you ever had a relationship whether it be with a friend or family member, where you felt like you made all the effort to keep it going? I have. It's exhausting, to feel as though you are trying to keep the relationship alive, while the other part does virtually nothing, or with minimal effort to show you they even care. The key to a successful relationship is it takes two parties willing to put forth effort to have a relationship stand the test of time. Relationships take a lot of work and effort, they can't be one sided or the person trying eventually wears out. Not because they don't care, but rather because humans eventually get depleted and exhausted. I am thankful I have one relationship that will never be depleted or tire from trying to reach deep within me, no matter how far I stray God is always there for me. He's always a prayer away, he's always waiting patiently for my return. He's always rejoicing at the sound of repentance from a heart that's turned back to him. Wherever you are, no matter how far you may have strayed... Know this, God loves you deeper than any man or woman ever could. He's the only one that has the ability to redeem and restore.  To bring beauty from the ashes. This showed up in my memories from a few years ago but I thought it was such a great reminder. God is so faithful.

Remember who you were before life got hard...

Life is not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. It’s just not...you’re going to go through some hard times, you’re going to face challenges and obstacles others may never know anything about but I can tell you the hard stuff is never without a purpose. God is shaping you , refining you, and redefining you through the hard stuff so that you will be equipped to carry out his plans he has for you. Life can be hard sometimes. Like, really hard!! Sometimes people that I thought would always be there or should be there for me, haven’t been. Sometimes I’ve poured myself emotionally empty into someone’s life just to have them walk away without a clear understanding of why. Sometimes we go through some hard things and we find out that the ones we’ve always showed up for aren’t always necessarily going to be there for us in return. Sometimes you’re going to be betrayed by people in your circle of faith or you’ll find church leaders that let you down.  Sometimes when you go through a rough season you will feel all alone and undone. Sometimes the people you looked up to are going to fail you. Sometimes you will put on a mask trying to pretend that the hard stuff doesn’t hurt you. Sometimes the enemy will come and try to steal your peace and cloud your vision because he knows after your breakthrough you will be unstoppable. So he tries to put obstacle after obstacle in your path to distract you from your purpose... God’s mission for you. Don’t you ever give up. Don’t let the storm you’re in define who you were made to be. Remember who you were before life got hard, when you were full of innocence, dreams, and hopeful expectation. Let the hurtful events serve as a reminder of how far you’ve come, but don’t let it hold you there because God has plans that far exceeds all of that. He knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Three Seconds To Make A Difference

Sometimes we can get so caught up in going forward we miss opportunities right in front of us. This happened a few years ago... On our way to church we seen a car parked on the side of the road. About a 1/2 mile up we passed an elderly man walking, so we turned the car around and asked if he needed a ride. He said, "No I lost my cellphone off the roof of my car last night so I'm going to retrace my steps and try to find it." The total distance would have been 10 miles. So we drove on and a few miles down the road we seen it, laying in the middle of the lane, so Ray hopped out and retrieved it, it was perfectly unharmed! So we turned the car around again and pulled up along side of the elderly gentleman rolled down the window and Ray asked him, "Does this look familiar?" To that the elderly man replied as his eyes lit up and a smile beamed across his face, "Yes Sir it sure does" was his response. We asked if we could give him a ride back to his car and he said he'd greatly appreciate it. He thanked us and we turned the car around again and headed to church. The kids kept repeating over and over again how happy they were we were able to help him. I heard a pastor one time say you have 3 seconds to decide if you want to help meet a need before the busyness of life can talk you out of it. In the back of my mind I knew the time we left the house we would just make it to church on time, and our schedule would not allow us to make a u-turn, when we ended up making 4! Sometimes we need to not let time (or lack of) and busyness dictate our decisions, we need to just meet the needs of random strangers, knowing small acts of kindness can make a world of difference in someone else's life, especially our own. I love being Christ's hands and feet and leading by example for our kids to see this played out in our own lives. I always tell people there are needs everywhere that need to be met, you just have to have eyes open enough to see them,  and a heart and hands willing to fulfill them. We pulled into the church parking lot at 9:00 exactly. I loved the message was about how Jesus humbled himself and washed the disciples feet. He saw a need and he met the need.

Freedom found in Refraining... 5 minute blog post

Refrain
There is so much freedom attached to the word. When we refrain from things that can cause us to engage in negative behaviors, in our lives we often find a new level of peace attached to what may feel unbearable, even painful at times, in the beginning of the process of learning how to refrain from such behaviors. However if this area is given enough discipline over the course of time we can relearn a beautiful lesson we might have missed if we had not made the choice to refrain from the negative behavior, to begin with. For instance if we make the deliberate choice to refrain from speaking negatively about others. It may feel painful at first to let that terrible old habit go, after all, how will your friends receive you if you decide when they start to fill you in on the latest gossip; you interrupt them by saying actually let’s talk about something else because this is an area that the Lord and I are working on together in my life and I have decided to no longer gossip about others. True, the friend might be slightly offended, feeling a slight twinge of guilt that you may also be implying that they too should join the bandwagon. However what the Lord is showing you is more important than the small amount of rejection you may receive from others, and the fruit it will produce in your life, will speak volumes when your friends start to notice the change inside your heart. Your example of refraining and being obedient to what God is calling you to address in your own life, could very well cause a ripple effect as the seeds you sow into other’s hearts will often produce an abundant harvest.

A peace that surpasses all understanding

A peace that surpasses all understanding in uncertain times...
6’ apart and face masks are terms that are sweeping across the world as this world wide pandemic has ignited these past few months and has just started here in the US over the past few weeks. Fear and worry of the unknown has spread like wildfire and yet I have felt a peace unlike any before, through it all.  A peace that truly surpasses all understanding and I wanted to share why.
For many people 6’ feet apart, self quarantine, or having to wear masks are new concepts of trying to keep yourself and the ones you love germ free... however for the past 11 years this has been a reality for our family, maybe not to the full extent that the world is experiencing it right now, but in many ways we have lived this and maybe this is why I have peace now, because God has taught me something through our own personal journey, and I thought by sharing our story it may help others too.
The fear of not knowing who is sick and carrying the virus has resulted in the recommendation of social distancing and remaining 6’ apart in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus. This has been a way of living for us not because of the virus but because our daughter has chronic disease called cystic fibrosis... a disease in which they can transfer bacteria to each other that can cause lung damage and so as a result the doctors recommend all CF patients to social distance and remain 6’ apart. In fact CF patients are recommended not to have any interaction at all. Appointments result in wearing masks in the hope that bacteria is not spread through the air so that their lung function may be preserved.  As her mom I frantically try my best to keep her healthy and to protect her from invisible bacteria that could be anywhere because many CF patients look perfectly normal and show no visual signs that they have it outwardly and so when we are shopping, or at restaurants, or playgrounds, or on vacations... I really have no idea who she is in contact with that may have it as well. As a result I’ve been unknowingly fearful to the point where it almost completely paralyzed me. I had panic attacks that made me feel like I was having a heart attack, and had fear so strong my whole body literally went numb. I’ve shook uncontrollably like I was freezing to death.  Fear has literally made me sick and even worse as a strong
Jesus loving Christian I have felt like an utter and total failure because of my lack of faith.  As a result I wore a mask for a long time because I didn’t want my kids or my family to know how truly scared I was.  I’m strong in so many areas but if Satan wanted to hurt me one of the few ways to do it would be through my children, so when I felt powerless as to how to fully protect her, it left me wide open for an enemy attack. Maybe perhaps some of you are feeling these same fears I was...
Thoughts like...
 How are you going to provide for your families and pay your bills while being out of work? What if you get this virus or infect others with it? I wonder who I know will die from this? I know so many people that fit into the vulnerable or compromised health category and it’s natural to be concerned but don’t let fear rule your life like I did.  A few years ago I had a dream that God used to really help set me free. In the dream our daughter was playing at a playground and as young kids often do, she had made a best friend instantly with a little girl there. It was so innocent and pure, they were laughing and having the time of their lives, the next thing I seen them share a drink and the little girl started coughing and her mom turned to me and said she had CF and in a moment everything I had worked so hard to protect her from came crashing down around me. I woke up in a panic with my heart pounding as I realized as much I love my baby girl I cannot protect her from everything. As much as I wanted to think I could control or protect her I’m not in control. God spoke so tenderly to me that night. He showed me I was trying to be something for our beautiful girl that he never called me to be... I was trying, unknowingly, to be her savior and it was destroying me. All the fear of the unknown, all of the what if’s, all of the false sense of control was leaving me in a tale-spin, as I was trying to protect her from invisible germs. Only Jesus can fulfill that role in her life and be her savior, no matter how much I want to protect her, that was simply beyond my control. In that moment much like Abraham had to do with his beloved son Isaac, trusting that God had a bigger purpose for him and would come through, I laid her at his feet and surrendered my control of her life and trusted that God loved her more than I ever possibly could and trusted that he can see the whole picture, so come what may he knows what is best for her, and for all of us. In that dream I realized I could never fully protect my daughter no matter how much I wanted to, or how pure my motives are and I had to trust that only Jesus can be her one true savior. Only God knows the number of her days for they were written in the book of life before one of them came to be.  See Psalm 139:16
No amount of worry can add a single hour to her life.  See Matthew 6:27.
So when this virus swept the world by surprise God’s peace had already done such a work in my life that I know from years of him showing me,  He’s got her, and I can let go of my control and trust in His plans, and I really and truly have a peace that surpasses all understanding that will GUARD my heart and my mind. See Philippians 4:6-7 It’s not that I don’t understand the severity of the situation at hand but rather my heart and mind is washed in God’s peace in knowing that he is faithful, he is who he says he is, and he is in control come whatever may unfold from this pandemic, we as believers in Christ have an advantage, we know the end of our story here is not the end of the story... amen! Jesus said  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Yes, God does give us wisdom. I always tell people when explaining our situation with our daughter... do you buckle your little kids in a car seat or do you just throw them in the car unbuckled and say God has them? To some extent we all try to protect our kids through wisdom and car seats but ultimately God has us. So during this time use Godly wisdom but don’t allow fear to creep in and take control.
One last thing I want to touch on that forever changed how I pray... when our daughter was little every night I’d pray and sing over her for God to heal her, and one night he so tenderly spoke to my mama heart and said to me, “You know you pray more for her physical healing than her salvation which one will last longer?” I believe God can heal but I also believe he can use what even the devil means for harm in our lives for his greater good. I believe it with every ounce within me that no sickness or disease that shall ever befall upon us will ever have the pleasure of stealing one of our days that God has planned for us and that God will not call us home until his purpose for our lives is complete in him.  May God’s peace protect you and always remember 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
May God’s voice in your life be louder than your fears. Because his perfect love drives out fear.