Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

I was typing an e-mail on my cell phone recently and made an interesting typographical error. When I went back over the message to proofread it, I discovered that instead of typing the word “singing” I typed “sining” omitting the g. If I had typed in one more n in the middle I would have been sinning instead of singing! This made me think about how we often do not see sin in our own lives or temptations until after we fall into them. What causes us to stumble into the pitfalls of life? Everyone has their own specific weaknesses and blind spots. However, if you picture yourself trying to navigate through your house in the middle of the night with no electricity, imagine what would cause you to stumble? Most likely if you have children, your answer would be toys that were left out that should have been put away. Now, you may say that you are not walking in spiritual darkness, which is great! God’s word is a light for our daily walk with Him. We use it to learn about His will in addition to spending time in prayer. The closer we draw to Him, the less likely we are to miss the obstacle that causes us to trip. My goal for this week is to think over my spiritual life and ask God to show me what I need to put away so that I won’t stumble in my daily walk. Maybe if we are singing praise to the Lord more, we will be sinning less! I’d like to hear from you…how do you stay focused and walk daily with God when you are pulled in many directions?

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter P:  Purpose, Power, Peace, Praise, and PURPLE.  Yesterday I took some time to take care of myself and have a manicure and pedicure.  I was browsing through the colors and a bright purple bottle of nail polish caught my attention.  I turned over the bottle, and the name of the color was “Purple with a Purpose”.  I usually would not have purple nails, but I really loved the name of the color.  So I was thinking as I was sitting in the chair about purpose.  God has a purpose for everyone.  There has been a lot written about purpose by Christian writers in recent years.  You can visit any book seller’s store or web site and find several books on the topic.  On christianbook.com, I did a key word search for the word “purpose” and got over five thousand results!  So what is our purpose?  What does God’s word tell us about that?

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. -Romans 8:28

Jesus talked about his own purpose frequently.  He had purpose in his earthly ministry, but what is our purpose?  What meaning is there in our lives?  Do we get purpose out of our own self worth as the self help guides insist?  Too often, we derive meaning in life for what we do…how well we clean the house, care for the children and take care of our many responsibilities.  We also identify ourselves through our relationships as wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc.  There is one relationship and one position in life, though that can give our lives purpose, and that is our relationship with God through His son Jesus.  We can live for that relationship because it gives our lives meaning and purpose!

When we are living within God’s will and not our own, we become attuned to His power.  It is God’s strength that will carry us through the day and give us the peace to accomplish His goals for us.  Mom makes plans, but God is the author of the whole universe.  When we trust His purpose for our lives, we can live at peace.  Having peace is definitely something that the world is seeking today!  Talk with anyone you know, and they will tell you that the one thing that they want more than anything is peace of mind.  So, let’s just take a minute today to praise His name for that peace which surpasses all human understanding.

I’m going PURPLE:

• Praise Him for His
• Unending
• Righteousness,
• Peace and
• Love
• Eternally

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is…Psalm 63:1

When we go through famines, as we have been discussing in the Desperate Housecries Bible study, the natural instinct is to run away!  We see this in the Bible when people faced famine, they often moved their families.  What about the other famines we face in life?  Right now, we are dwelling in a dry and thirsty land called deployment.  I’m about to go to a cold, empty bed, and my dear husband is on the other side of the globe in a hostile land with few comforts from home.  We try to talk often and write to each other via e-mail, but it’s not the same.  Since running away isn’t an option, what are we to do in times of famine, when our souls are parched.

The longings of our soul will determine our reactions to famine.  Our desires motivate us to action.  If we are hungry, we long for nourishment and take action – get a snack.  When we are lonely, we long for companionship and take action – call on a friend.  God’s Word shows us that He knows our every need and provides for us abundantly.  Notice he knows our needs, not our whims, likes or preferences.  He doesn’t follow our facebook “likes” list, but he is your fan.  He knows our inmost being because he created it!

It seems so challenging it is in our modern era of convenience and instant gratification to wait upon the Lord.  We must learn to be at rest in the Lord by practicing putting our trust in Him completely.  His timing is always perfect.

He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. -Habakkuk 3:6

Is the longing of your soul for the Lord?  This reminds me of a beautiful, old hymn:  “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”  When we focus our attention on Him, the troubles of our famines fade in the distance, and we have peace for today and hope for tomorrow.

How many different roles do you fulfill in your daily life?  Are you a wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, employee, church member (or parishioner), etc.  If you’re a mom, then you might even wear different maternal hats…nurse, counselor, teacher, police officer, confidant, etc.  God has blessed women with the ability to multitask.  We all do it and are often able to accomplish much with our time when we are properly focused.  Do you ever get your plate so full, though that you start to lose balance and feel FRAZZLED in a bad way?

• Frantic
• Removed
• Angry
• Zoned out
• Zero energy
• Lonely
• Exhausted
• Distracted

The Bible says to seek first the kingdom of God and “all these things will be added”.  God promises that we can have:

• Freedom through a
• Relationship with Christ to
• Act out a
• Zealous
• Love
• Every
• Day

So now, are you frazzled or FRAZLED?  Spend a few minutes in the Word every day.  Give it some serious thought and meditation when you pray and throughout your day.  Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we read the words, but we don’t actually absorb them.  How many times have you read John 3:16, for example?  Yes we all have it memorized, but have you thought about it lately?  “For God so loved the world…”  Really let the meaning of those words sink in to your thoughts as you go through the day.  When you meet people during the day, think about that.  God loved the world.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. -Colossians 3:16

I had a most charming Packett from you and my young Correspondents, to day.
I am very happy, to learn that you have done such great Things in the Way of paying Debts. I know not what would become of me, and mine, if I had not such a Friend to take Care of my Interests in my absence.

This is an excerpt from a letter written in 1777 from John Adams to Abigail. They spent many years apart during their marriage, and their correspondences are very endearing to me because writing is my primary means of communication with my own husband who is nearing the end of his deployment. Coincidentally, when I first read this passage, I received an e-mail from my husband thanking me for a care package that we had sent to him and thanking me for taking care of the bills and other business while he is away.

My husband has told me on numerous occasions that reading e-mails from me and receiving packages in the mail encourages him tremendously. We have started a tradition that I write an e-mail to him at least once a day so that he can read about what we are doing here at home. I have discovered that it’s not just the mundane details about our day that thrill him, though. He loves the fact that I am thinking about him and am willing to put forth the effort to maintain communication with him on a regular basis.

One of the most important things to remember when communicating with your deployed spouse (or other family members) is that their days are often filled with stressful events and tasks. They are also likely to be short on precious sleep. If you are able to speak on the phone or via video conference, fill your conversations with encouraging words and listen actively to whatever they have to say without judgment. It is not easy for us at home to imagine what it is like to be in such a hostile environment unless we have been there ourselves.

Your loved one will appreciate the love you give them, whether it is a box of cookies, a thoughtful note, a child’s drawing or a few minutes on the phone. If you do not have a spouse or family member who is currently deployed, you can be a blessing to a service member who is overseas and may not have a spouse or family supporting them from home. There are many organizations who organize care package drives for soldiers or facilitate for individuals to adopt soldiers.

NB: Letter excerpt from My Dearest Friend: Letters of John and Abigail Adams, edited by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor, published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007, p 182

I am an Army (National Guard) wife. My HERO (aka husband) is now approaching the end of his first deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Every day during this deployment I go to the calendar and mark off the previous day with a big X. The days go by, sometimes at a snail’s pace and sometimes rather quickly. We have a four year-old son. He misses Daddy. I miss Daddy. Everyone in our family misses him. How do you explain “not to exceed 400 days” to a child who has only lived about 1,400 days total? Fortunately, his recollection of this year in his life will fade more quickly than it will for the rest of us.

Memories do fade even for us grown ups. I’ve heard that time heals all wounds, but as the 11th day of this month approaches, some pain seems too deep to fade to the recesses of my brain. A friend of mine has asked me to join her and a group of our friends to go to New York City on September 11th. I accepted immediately, but then it happened. Doubt started to creep into my thoughts. Maybe I should just stay home. What will I really accomplish going there?

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at home in the last month of my first pregnancy and was watching the Food Network at 9 am. I always watched cooking shows in the morning to get some inspiration for dinner. My grandmother called me on the telephone after the first tower was hit and told me to put on the news so that I could explain to her what was happening. I do not have any recollection of what I was watching prior to changing the channel other than it was something about food because when I changed the channel, my mind went into a state of shock, and confusion set in for me also.

I remember watching the news day after day and thinking how I wished I could be there to help in a tangible way. I prayed for God to show me how I could help. No answer. I kept praying. I couldn’t donate blood because I was pregnant. I couldn’t donate much money because I didn’t have much of that to spare either. The baby arrived. He was such a perfect boy, so sweet and adorable in every way! (He is still a good boy and very handsome too!) A dear friend lost her battle with cancer just two weeks after my baby made his grand debut. Again, there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even say goodbye to her. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, to borrow a phrase.

Over the past nine years, a lot has changed. I have been divorced and remarried. This month I am celebrating my fifth anniversary with my husband. He is in Afghanistan because of the events of September 11, 2001. Nine years ago I prayed that God would show me a way that I could help. Now I have been given the opportunity to attend the memorial ceremony on the site where so many lost their lives in an instant. I will be able to go there and show support for their families, standing shoulder to shoulder with them.

Tonight as we get ready for bed, I think of the many other spouses headed to an empty bed, some of which will remain empty. I thank the Lord for the peace that only He can give that helps us make it through the long nights and the days on the calendar.