Life in Words

Jehovah Jireh--God will provide. Have you ever felt at a loss for where the provision for a certain need was going to come from? Spent hours going over the budget and readjusting the totals in different categories trying to make room? I'm a budgeter--not sure it is a real word--but I like budgets. I like to have the columns even out and know where and what and how--I like having it all controlled. So when the numbers don't add up or there is an unexpected expense, my stomach tightens. The columns don't match and the balance is off. This does not make me happy. Jehovah Jireh. It is one thing to know a truth in my mind and another thing to hold it true in my heart. Recently, instead of fretting over the unexpected expenses, I challenged myself to really make this name of His true in my heart. Provider:(noun) a person or thing that provides (dictionary.com) He will meet all my needs according to His great riches. (Philippians 4:19) He knows what I need before I ask

"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ..."Philippians 3:8 NIV "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ..."Philippians 3:8 NLT "The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I di

James 1:23-25 "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does." I recently forgot what I looked like. I went through a few days of very troubling worry not knowing what to do next. I searched and searched for an answer, a solution, a quick fix. All the while asking God to give me wisdom on how to fix it. This morning, He reminded me what I should look like. He tapped on my heart and turned my gaze in another direction. One, I hadn't remembered to look in a while. It was then that I saw the reflection of His heart and remembered what mine was supposed to look like. Then just like that, all my worries from the past several days melted away. I don

I'm a doer. You know, someone who is performance oriented. I need to be doing something--something productive. I need to feel needed, wanted, valued, appreciated. I like checklists--writing them, prioritizing them, finishing them, checking it all off. I like to feel busy, be busy, sound busy. For you see, somewhere along my life I learned that this made me feel important, valued, needed, wanted and appreciated. Right now, I'm in a season of waiting. There are things that I enjoyed doing and/or I would like to be still doing that I know God has told me to say no to right now. Things that kept me busy, made me feel needed, wanted, valued and appreciated. Last night as I struggled with tears streaming down my face, I poured out my very empty feeling heart to God as I don't understand the why or how of this season of waiting. Then this morning, a quiet, gentle voice whispered a thought to me. Maybe I continue to be in this season of waiting because I haven't lear

Psalm 37:1-6 "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they  will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give  you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." This Psalm and these six verses in particular are some of my all time favorites. Such reassurance lies in these words--reassurance during times of confusion or resentment. I have at times felt forgotten... left on the back burner slowly warming watching the boiling pot in front get all of the attention. Have you? I used to dream big. I used to think I would shine. I used to want to conquer the world. What do you think in those times that you live your day to day watching others (who may o

I like puzzles. Mostly because they are good for my brain. They can become so frustrating as I try to make all the pieces work together. Some puzzles would be impossible to put together if I did not have the finished, big picture to refer to. Then there are those puzzles that are never complete because a piece or pieces were missing. When pieces are missing, I don't see the full picture. As a mother, I have learned many things that I would never understand had I never become a mother. As a woman, I understand/empathize with womanly issues more than any man ever could. As a sister, I truly value the relationship that can only exist between/among siblings. As a wife, I have gained intimate knowledge of just how difficult it can be to unite two people together completely. As a former student, I remember the agony of unending hours of homework and the unfairness of a major exam right after a break. Then as a teacher, I valued the time my teachers poured into me and my classmate

John 11: 32-33&35 "Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. Jesus wept." As I was reading through this chapter and familiar story, I was suddenly struck with the depth of this particular part of the story. Jesus, being God, knew that He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. Not only that, but a few verses earlier, He even told His disciples what He was about to do. The death of Lazarus was not news to Jesus--nor, in my mind, do I imagine a very troubling thought to Him since He knew what was about to happen. So then, why did He weep? Why was He greatly troubled? Because He saw the deep pain of His friends. His empathy was SO great that even knowing what was about to happen He still wept with His friends. "Fo

What are a few of your favorite things? (Anyone hear the classic melody from The Sound of Music in your mind while reading those words?) What makes you sincerely happy? What brings you the most joy? I love Psalm 37. The author filled this psalm with reminders of God's promises to care for us. One verse in particular is highly circulated in the church circles, but it wasn't until recently that the depth and meaning of one of the words really struck me. Ps. 37:4: "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." What does delight mean? I mean I know what it means, but what is the actual dictionary definition? I looked it up (ok, I googled it) and this is the definition I found... "Delight: something that makes you very happy; something that gives you great pleasure or satisfaction." (i.word.com) I love this definition of delight. Something (or could I interject someone) that makes me very happy. Does God make me very ha

"If  you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11) I never really understood that verse until I became a mother. I eat, sleep, breathe, live all about my kids (in a healthy and balanced way not neglecting my marriage). I want nothing more than the very best for my children. I never want my children to experience pain. I want them to always feel safe to come to me throughout life with all their worries and circumstances. So if I, being the fallible human being that I am, feel this much love for my children, how much more does a perfect God love us?

Today as I thought about all the circumstances in life that happen that leave me wondering why or when, I was reminded about Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother. She was very old and well past child bearing years when she finally became pregnant with baby John. In those days, a barren woman was thought of as less than. Surely there must be a reason in her life for her barrenness. Not being able to conceive and bear a child was a great emotional burden for her I am sure. I can imagine all the years she spent wondering why God... why have I not been blessed with a child? Why did I not get the blessing of being a mother? What sin is there in my life that holds this blessing back? What will happen to me when I am old? Then one day her husband has a miraculous meeting with an angel in the temple. (Read the full story in Luke chapter 1) He is struck mute because of his unbelief that his wife would bear a son. I can only imagine Elizabeth's questions after that day. God, not only

"the Maker of heaven and earth.." I am often astonished by great works of art--be it paintings or music or writings or architecture. To think that someone not only created this magnificent piece but also had the mental capacity to first think about it. The original thought process, idea and then application of that idea into something so amazing makes my mind give a moment of silent awe. Isn't it truly incredible how some are so gifted? The realization, the deep conviction of the word "Maker" struck me today as I read Psalm 121. He is the maker, the creator, the designer, the architect, the scientist, the poet, the musician, the brains behind the world. He not only thought about it but He made it with just a spoken word. Every detail, every atom, every particle, every neuron, every molecule, every droplet, every organism, everything... it's all His design. He made the heaven and the earth. This great Maker, has said that He will keep me safe... th