Lemon Tree...very pretty...

I used to hate the phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” I thought it was trite and silly…that is until life gave me some major lemons!! I struggled through tears to make whatever lemonade I could from the hard situations in my life. Lemonade is suppose to be refreshing but you can’t have it without first squeezing those bitter fruits!! It is from a pitcher of lemonade that I learned some valuable lessons.

Psalm 1 talks about the righteous and says, “We are planted by streams of water,” …streams are fresh waters…or if you will “living” water. Crystal clear and fresh…it is needed for the young sapling to grow…and to eventually bear fruit. Often, if we move away from the stream, we suffer a drought…we need water. Isaiah 55: 1 tells us to “come” to the waters” and as we drink deeply we grow and soon sweet smelling blooms appear---we know the peace of God and believe things are going to be great! In time the blooms fall and fruit begins to develop; we are often surprised that the fruit is a lemon. We taste it and find it bitter and try desperately to make lemonade but find the result to be only cloudy water. We can no longer see clearly…we wonder if the water will ever be translucent again?

Life isn’t fair but it was never going to be no matter what we wanted! Jesus told His disciples, “In this world you are going to have trouble…but be of good cheer…I have overcome the world!” John 16:33. Even in knowing that, we must deal with cloudy water and bitterness. It is hard. What can we do and what if we don’t like lemonade!!??

Consider the ingredients of lemonade: water, lemons and sugar.

◊ The water obviously is Jesus--the living water
◊ The sugar is His Grace given by the Holy Spirit placing His peace and comfort in the hard times of our lives
◊ The lemons, obviously, represent the hardships of the world.

I learned two basic lessons from my pitcher of lemonade. I learnedthat the three components, once mixed, are inseparable. Once we go through a hardship it will always be a part of us and we need to discover how to deal with it. We can have victory! And I learned that the largest component in the pitcher is always the water.

So how does knowing this help us in times of trials? Some will add more lemons and allow bitterness to take over in their lives but that doesn’t help! Others might want to add more sugar to just feel better but after awhile, even that becomes undrinkable. The more I reflected on this it was apparent that I needed to add more water. So I did and the taste definitely changed…so I added more and more water until before long, I could barely taste the lemons…there was a faint flavor but no longer bitter…no longer sour. I tasted mostly water. Do you get it?? When we add more living water in our lives, the taste of the world is less.

It is about our focus! If we focus on the lemons (the hardships) we will want to add more sugar… but if we focus on the water (Jesus and His purposes) that solves the problem. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “I have overcome the world.” He overcomes the bitterness of life. The way we deal with lemons is not just making lemonade but to continue adding the living water. Focus on the water not the lemons nor the sweetener but the one who said he would always be with us.

We started with Psalm 1…being planted by the living water and that is how to deal with lemons…they are going to come….but if we stay planted by the Living Water, eventually we have the victory…and this focus brings the spiritual refreshing we think about when we think about lemonade…it quenches our deep thirsts. We become stronger and even though we might have preferred no lemons, we can use them as a conduit for desiring more of the living water Christ offers. So drink up!! When life gives you lemons…add water!!!! Living water!

The Wait

Every woman knows, with fall in the air, wardrobe changes are inevitable. I love the colors and the textures of nubby sweaters (and the fact that many imperfections are hidden is just icing on the cake!!) Now, I am not really a stylish person but I love the sweaters this year…long…some below the knees. Yay!! More coverage! I have seen these on others and thought if I ever found one, I would get it.

Labor Day weekend 2010! While visiting my son and his wife in Texas, my daughter- in-law and I went shopping for her birthday. As we walked into the Dress Barn, I saw “it!” A bright light seemingly came down and illuminated the sweater of my dreams. It was beautiful…a mixture of brown and black with ruffles all the way to the knees. The store had very few customers so I decided to “think’ about it while my daughter-in-law tried on her choices. After about 20 minutes we headed to the checkout counter where “the sweater” had been displayed---but where was it? The mannequin once clad in splendor was strangely bare in only a tank top. I felt panic rising as I asked the sales associate about it to which she replied, pointing, “That lady over there got it to try on!” What??? Where had she come from and why would she want MY sweater? I became a crazy woman!! I paced, telling myself that she hadn’t bought it yet…there was hope…and so I waited…and waited…was she trying on the whole store??? She was too short for the sweater anyway!! Couldn’t she see that? Finally she emerged from the dressing room and returned “my” sweater to the sales associate who quickly brought it to this crazy, pacing woman. I had not even tried the sweater on but I had no choice but to purchase it! I left the store tightly clutching this find! My daughter-in-law just shook her head! (She does that a lot when I am around!)

Yes, sometimes we do really crazy things for even crazier reasons. Usually, I don’t try to make a spectacle of myself, really I don’t. I want to be sophisticated and calm but when I am passionate about things, I forget all of that. For years I found myself being less than passionate about what Christ had done for me. I had always been a good kid and so Christianity was just status quo attached to redemption. I lived like that for so many years…I was in church every time the doors were opened but mostly it was because I had to go. I would sit there quietly covering up those “pesky” sins not wanting anyone to know, all the while searching for something “more” but didn’t know what “it” was until I had what I call an Isaiah 6 Experience when I realized who I was compared to a Holy God. It was as if a shining light came down illuminating my unworthiness. I knew I had been found out! At that moment I knew that was what I had been looking for! I wanted more than anything for this Holy God to love me to which He reminded me that He did and that I no longer had to hide those imperfections…He knew about them and His Son’s blood had taken them away. When I came up from this experience, I was different. Truth changes us! I became crazy about Him!! My worship changed…I was passionate about Him and I didn’t care who knew it!

I came upon a scripture in 2 Corinthians 5: 13. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. Paul got it!! David got it, too, when he entered Jerusalem with the Ark of the Covenant and danced! God had shown them “more!” God had shown me “more!” He wants to show the world His “more!” He wants to cloth us in His splendor…but we have to rid ourselves of all preconceived ideas of who we are and what we want? Are we willing to be a little “crazy” for Him? When we are people will notice…some might think we are crazy but we will be grasping onto the most important find of our lives as we walk! Each time I wear my sweater, I think I will remember this!

Hey, Coach!!!

Anyone who knows me for 5 minutes knows that I absolutely love football. The excitement of pulling for one team over another and winning…or losing… is compelling to me. (Did you know my Saints won the Super Bowl?) But I digress! While watching a football game with my grandson, William, I asked, “Which person would you want to be if you played football, the one who throws the ball or the one who tackles?” He looked up at me and with great thought (shown by the furrow between his eyes) finally said, “I want to be the coach!” I laughed at that because he obviously had watched the battered ones on the field, vs. the coach who got to wear the cool headset and quickly surmised that the coach has the easiest job!

We make many decisions based on what appears to be the truth…and most of the time the outward is what we base that truth upon. Our world is so outwardly focused. As much as I hate to admit it, I often fall for “the way things seem.” I try not to but…there it is. I can remember in my first teaching job during parent/teacher conference one of my student’s mothers came in dressed very poorly with hair uncombed and flip-flops (before they were stylish). I immediately assumed that she was uneducated and poor and I treated her as such. (Lord, forgive me!) After the meeting I discussed this with another teacher and found out that the woman had a PhD and was from one of the wealthiest families in the city…she just didn’t care about the way she looked. I often wonder what she thought of me after that meeting and I was ashamed.

All through the Bible there are references to the outward and the inward. Jesus was a master at the inward…maybe because he could see what is there so clearly! Who would have chosen a short, hated tax collector to be someone who really wanted to change but just didn’t know how? Once he did, he began giving all he had away! Oh, and that woman…the one at the well. All the town’s people knew enough to leave her alone but Jesus offered her what she really needed-- a new start-- and she used it to bring all those town’s people to Jesus. And then there is that prideful persecutor of Christians…Yes, Jesus saw in Saul of Tarsus, one who would be the first missionary to the Gentiles and the one to write letters that continue to encourage us today. It is all in where we put our focus as to what we see in others but also in ourselves for God sees in us things that we might miss because we tend to look at our own “outwardness.” What does God see in you? Are you willing to allow Him to show you? You might be surprised that He knows your deepest needs, insecurities and your greatest gifts. You might also be surprised that He wants to use the things you think are worthless for something worthwhile.

William thought that the coach only had to stand on the sidelines and chew gum but he couldn’t see the hours of planning that goes into being a coach. The coach also tends to be able to see what each player can do even when that player might not and the simple phrase, “I know you can do this!” can make all the difference in the next play. What was unseen is so much more important than what is seen and so it is with the way we look at others and the way we view ourselves. Be willing to let God show you what is inward truth is and when we do, we will say, “Hey Coach! Put me in!” and that will make all the difference!

The Man Behind the Curtain

I love going to church…I always have…When I was a child, I especially loved going on Sunday nights… except for one Sunday a year. I don’t know when the tradition began but once a year The Wizard of Oz aired on Sunday nights! My parents would not budge by giving permission to skip church nor would they believe I was suffering from a rare tropical disease so it wasn’t until much later that I actually got to see this iconic movie. If you are not aware of this movie, let me give you a brief summary: tornado, house crashes in another world, girl talks to strangers who are looking for a brain, a heart and some courage. Must go to Emerald City to get said objects. On the way, meet a witch who has a shoe fetish and monkeys for pets. Arriving at the Emerald City, meet the “Wizard” via hologram on a curtain and a mic on high reverb. Girl’s doggie ruins the illusion by going behind the curtain seeing a simple man manipulating some levers followed by the words, “Don’t pay any attention to the man behind the curtain!” spoken by the man behind the curtain!! The travelers discover the things they sought they already had and always had…they just needed to know it. Oh, and then it all ends by the words, “There’s no place like home!” Whew! Of course, I missed some stuff in the middle but that is the gist!!

Simple movie? I don’t’ think so. The older I get the more I see that we treat church much like Dorothy did The Emerald City, Oz. A tornado hits our life and we need answers right away…so we go to a place that is suppose to magically fulfill all our desires and life will be great. We want to believe in an illusion! Many will follow a church or a pastor seeking what they need in their lives but when the church is revealed for what it is (a group of people seeking God together) they are disillusioned. When the pastor is revealed from behind the curtain to be just a man who is also seeking, many leave the church without the thing they really needed to “get!” You see the reality is that God has given each of us what we need to get by in this world…Where did I get that? Read II Peter 1: 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Did you see that? He has given us EVERYTHING we need through our knowledge of HIM…we already have it just as the tin man had a heart, the scarecrow had a brain and the lion had courage…they didn’t need to get it from another…God had given it.

The things you seek are not going to be found in a pastor…his role is to guide you through God’s word. It will not be found in the most up to date “worship” center but in the quietness of listening to His voice. It can’t be found in great worship songs if God’s spirit is not already within you. It will not be found in anyone other than God’s Holy Spirit, which dwells in you for they are all just “the man behind the curtain.”

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain but pay attention to the One who removed the veil from our eyes through the sacrifice of His Son so we can glimpse eternal glory! When you do that you will find “home.” Then when you wake up to this realization you will look at those around you and say, “You were there, and you, and you too!” For we are all in this journey together…that, my dear ones, is what the Church, the Bride of Christ is to be.

Storms

This week marks the 41st anniversary of Hurricane Camille that hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1969. While to many it was just a news story it was a turning point in my life. Camille was supposed to be a small storm and was not suppose to hit Mississippi. Because of that, many people did not evacuate…my family among them. We were clueless about hurricanes because we had recently moved to Mississippi from the San Joaquin valley of California where the most dangerous weather was extreme heat in the summer.

I remember the day vividly…I went to church that Sunday morning because it was “Youth in Charge Day” (like we weren’t always!) and I was teaching a senior adult class…the rain had begun. By the time I got home from church the news was that the storm was indeed heading our way and it was to land as a Category 5. We lived a block from the beach but thought we would be fine. We began doing what everyone else was doing; boarding up windows, filling tubs with water and praying! It was too late to leave.

There is nothing worse than waiting for impending danger and my family sat in silence as darkness fell and the sound of wind became louder. By midnight all the electrical transformers had blown so all we could do was listen to the howling outside our home. Leaning against the walls of our hallway, we felt the house begin to “breath,” when we were startled by a limb breaking through the board on a window shattering glass in my bedroom. This scared us, but also relieved the pressure that was building in our well built home. Around 4:00 am I fell asleep but woke at daybreak to a sight I will never forget…all around our house was flat…we had had two huge trees that had fallen away from our house. I remember thinking, “This is bad but not as bad as I thought.” This was until I took a walking tour to some friend’s houses…which were gone…familiar sights under piles of rubble…smells of death already beginning to surface from who knows what in the stifling heat that followed this storm. My cousin had lost everything…the only thing left of her house was a clean slab. I was in shock. Friends were allowed to come to my house to stay since they no longer had a place to call home.

I began to feel guilty…I think they call it survival’s guilt. Why would my family still have a home in tact with very little damage? Why us? Why me? Before this, I had been struggling a bit with the reality that God truly loved me and had a plan for me. I then did what I did whenever I questioned life…I went to play my piano. I noticed a hymnal on the piano had been blown open to a hymn I had never seen. In my questioning, God had chosen a unique way to answer my 16-year-old question…the title of the hymn was, Your Heavenly Father Cares for You. I stood there with tears streaming down my face as the words sunk in. He cares for me. He really did.

From that day forward I never questioned that He truly cares…I still can’t get my arms around why others lost everything including family members. I don’t understand it all but I do understand that God was speaking to my young heart.

I believe that God used Camille to show me that after devastation, no matter how terrible, there is a tomorrow. The coast built back-even stronger…lives began again…there was a tomorrow. It was a lesson I learned as a youth…a valuable lesson. I began in earnest my journey with Jesus Christ that day…after a storm. I began to realize also that just because I was a Christian, I was not immune to storms in my life! The fact is there have been many more storms since that August day in 1969…some physical some personal…but the lesson is the same…God provides a tomorrow and with each tomorrow, we grow stronger in Him.

Maybe you are having a storm of your own, right now. May I encourage you to look to Him? This situation was not a surprise to Him and He has a plan in this devastation to strengthen and comfort you in the middle of it all. My go-to verse in this is, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Is 43:2 The important words here are “when” and “through!” You will have storms but when you hold on to His hand you will make it through! Remember, He cares for you!!

Yearly Obsession

This might seem strange but I love this time of year!! I love to go to office supply stores and examine each and every aisle drooling over the new types of pens and pencils offered. I stand forever looking at notebooks and folders deciding which would be best to keep things in order. Hobby Lobby and Michaels have dollar sections filled with all kinds of matching stationery items!! Heavenly! I have always loved school…I loved taking classes and I loved organizing my life into 6 perfectly divided sections of a day! The problem is that I am no longer in school nor do I still teach high school but that doesn’t stop me from going through this ritual I have observed for longer than I care to admit.

This year I began to think about why I do this. What draws me to school supplies? Is there a gene that makes me crave the smell of fresh textbooks? I don’t think so…in remembering school “startings” as a child, I remember a feeling of being able to start over…that everything I did last year (good or bad) didn’t matter. I remember thinking, “This year I am determined to make all A’s!” It all begins anew. Also, the farthest thing on my mind was my “permanent record!” (By the way, I don’t even know what happened to it…Permanent? I think not!!)

This week a part of me is craving that newness…that feeling that yesterday didn’t really matter that it all goes forward from here out. I have never gotten over my need for a new start! (Maybe that is why I bought that box of pencils and flowery files along with the coordinating folder.)

Perhaps it was the start of the school year when the scholar, Paul the Apostle wrote his letter to the Philippians! As he was talking about all the great things he had been, he added it was nothing…a complete loss compared to the greatness of Christ. Later in the same passage he says these words: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13b-14

Forgetting what is behind doesn’t just mean the “bad things” but also the great things we have done. Don’t hold onto what you were…it is what you are that matters and what we do from here on out. Set your goal to press on toward the prize! Set your goal to please the One who has given you life!! So it is with the start of another school year…a reminder that we have a clean slate! Press on and if you need to get some new pens to help…go ahead!!!

I'M BACK!

I know that I said I would write soon but the move this time took a great deal out of me! We are settled and love our new home and pray that God will use it to His glory. All ready we have had college kids stay in the extra rooms, ladies groups come and fellowship and of course, Bible study. May God be lifted up!

Now, what have I learned from this? First of all, I did NOT want to move. I was comfortable with the other house. The operative word here is "comfortable!" Although there were times that that house was not big enough for all we wanted to do, I didn't want to do the work it took to go to another place...I said I was "comfortable" but it was really laziness! It takes work to move...it takes effort and in many ways it takes faith. How did I know this new house would be ok? Was it structurally safe? What if...what if...

I discovered that my life was filled with negative "what if's" instead of looking for what God wanted. God spoke to me during this time that many times I react the same way in my spiritual life. When God wants me to move on to something bigger, I argue that I am comfortable where I am...After all, it takes work to learn something new...to study more, to depend more on His strength! I argue that I often get lonely in new ministry...I NEED the people I have gotten to know...and He answers that all I really need is Him.

I find that the older I get the harder it is to move on! The physical move nearly did me in! I have moved many times in my life but never at this age...Isn't it true that the older we get spiritually the more we want to sit back and let others do the ministry. That is NOT God's way. I often tell ladies groups that, "God is not finished with you until someone looks over your casket and says 'don't she look natural?'" God reminded me of that during our move....His word was that He is not finished "growing and moving" me...there is much more He wants me to do but I must be willing.

The house is great! We are using this gift from Him in ways I could never do in the other house. In my own life, I want to be used for His glory. It often takes me out of my comfort zone but when I get there I am invigorated and energized because God gives me the strength and power it takes.

Some of you are in a place of comfort...But God is wanting to take you further! He did that with the children of Israel when He Joshua said to them, "Consecrate yourself, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow!" Jos.3:5 May I paraphrase that? Pack up! Move on! God has even more exciting things in store!

Get moving!! It's good for you!!

Moving

Friends,

We are in the process of moving to a new house. I will be writing another blog next week. Thank you so much for your support.

cyndi

Frozen Dangers!

Frozen Pipes are not just aggravating but can cause serious consequences. Mississippi is not used to long bouts of freezing weather and our lack of preparedness was evident this winter as the City of Jackson had over 180 water main lines burst causing schools, offices, restaurants, and in some cases hospitals to stop or limit their services. As the city came to a near shutdown of activities many were asking how this could have been prevented. The only answer given is that the pipes were old and needed to be replaced. It appeared there was little thought given to this fact until the pipes broke! Some felt the disaster happened because problems were ignored until it was too late. There is a life-lesson in that!!!

Recently, I went for a wellness check-up…I was feeling great…but the results showed a little build up in an artery that could eventually cause heart problems. I was shocked!!! I thought I was doing fine…my blood pressure was low and things were great but a check-up revealed a potential problem. Hearts and pipes are not much different I discovered…they both need care to function properly and that goes for the spiritual heart as well. Many of us ignore this heart until disaster strikes and it breaks with an outflow of pain and waves of desperation. We often live life…going to church, singing the same songs and doing it all by rote but have not checked the heart pipes for a slow freezing. Having lived in the country for a while, I learned that pipes are less likely to freeze if there was water movement within…thus we kept faucets dripping during freezing weather. Movement tends to keep all kind of things from freezing up but one must be diligent in keeping the movement going.

The Bible speaks often of living water and living water is not stagnant! This should give us a clue of what is important to a vibrant Christian lifestyle. Since the heart (both physical and spiritual) is hidden from our eyes and the eyes of others it is easy to ignore possible problems until the “pipes burst!” When we go to pieces over something that is truly minor it might be that there had been no spiritual movement in our hearts for quite a while. I understand this for there was a time I coasted spiritually letting my prayer life and Bible study go to the back burner. Today, I only need a little nudge to get me back on track but I remember a time when I ignored my heart and within a year found it completely frozen; it was hard and unmoving. That hardness resulted in a tough and cold attitude toward God, the church, and folks in general. I had ceased to show any emotion and spent many months not shedding a single tear yet I continued to go to church and kept up the façade so others wouldn’t know but underneath I was in a spiritually dangerous place. One day I came upon a scripture that brought me hope: Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and will put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a new a heart of flesh!” It was not until then that I could really put a finger on what was wrong… I had become hard-hearted…or frozen. I began to pray for that fleshly heart. God answered and when my heart finally broke all the anger and bitterness flooded out until I was completely spent. Then the tears came and that release allowed my new heart to function correctly again.

Maybe you are struggling with some heart pipe problems, too. I am here as a testimony of how good it is to keep the flow of the living water running through the veins. Jesus promised the Living Water. Drink deeply of His water and I promise your pipes will flow freely…even when things are freezing all around. And by the way, these pipes never get too old!

Lions, and Tiger and Dares, Oh My!

For the last months the news has been inundated with Tiger Woods and his numerous affairs…if you haven’t heard any of it, you have been in a third world country with no electricity. I would have hoped we would have left him alone to work out his personal life but since that isn’t the case I will use his situation as a warning to me about how I too could plummet into sin. I am not immune so I must be aware of how satan works!

How did Tiger fall? The same way we all do…with one little compromise. No thinking person dives into sinful behavior full force, it is small steps; like the popular Christian song says, “it’s a slow fade.” We start with one small compromise and soon find ourselves fully engaged in an affair, fixing the books, or other equally heinous activity we never dreamed we would be involved. The Bible is NOT silent on this. One of the greatest men ever to serve God discovered this; his name was King David. We find his story in II Samuel 11-13. How did this “man after God’s own heart” fall? It was with a single step…not being where he should have been, on the battlefield with the rest of his troops. Our fall often starts when we allow ourselves to be in situations that are not “right”-- engaging in relationships that have consequences beyond what we ever imagined. Christians are not immune! Many are caught in compromising situations and just as Tiger Woods, lose their families. It all started with a lunch or a phone call where the lines of right and wrong were blurred. Excuses like, “I was ministering to him/her.” Or “He/She needed a friend because his/her wife/husband doesn’t understand.” These excuses are the foothold that satan looks for to destroy the witness of a Christian.

All of us have times when our marriages are not going great guns and that is the exact time when satan, a roaring lion, pounces. He whispers, “You deserve more.” And then someone comes along who looks and acts like just what we need. Satan had it all planned…for your destruction! What begins as an innocent lunch ends in a bitter divorce. Lives are wrecked so we offer excuses…Tiger’s excuse was he was bored with his wife and he felt that gave him permission. We need to be aware of when we are “excusing” sin in our lives. Believe me, I know…I have been tempted and had it not been for my godly accountability partner, I shutter to think where my life would now be. Friend, we need boundaries to keep us from the wiles of the lion who is seeking to devour us, our families, and our ministries.

David could see sin in other’s lives but was hesitant to admit it in his own! We are often like that and so we need a “Nathan” in our lives…someone who will tell us the truth and to whom we will listen. When we engage in sinful behavior, the last thing we want is someone pointing it out but that is exactly what we need if we are to gain victory over sin.

David often told the story of killing a lion with his bare hands when he was younger but as he grew spiritually complacent, an even greater lion overtook him, resulting in actions, which David never dreamed he would participate. Many of us have been strong in the faith and have slain many lions but we have become complacent…our walk is not as close as it used to be and that is a dangerous place to be. We need to get back on our own battlefield against our great enemy. We need to stay fresh! May I present you with a dare for this New Year? Find someone to whom you will be accountable to for your actions, to whom you give permission to snatch you from potentially dangerous situations. We are in a great battle and we need each other to keep us “honest!”

I pray for each of you this year that you will remain faithful! Use this thought: There is a Lion…remember Tiger…and take the Dare! Oh, my. Victory is in our reach!

Hey Stranger!

So how is the first week of 2010 going for you? I am still wondering if I am going to say, “twenty-ten” or “two-thousand ten,” but I digress!! I spent the first few days of this year at our son and daughter-in-law’s home. They have two little boys who are an absolute hoot! The older one (nearly 3) is asking some questions I need to ask myself more often, like, “Mom, what does God do?” The more I think about that question, the more I find comfort in the answer! It is a deep question and one that requires time to consider.

Some would say that God created everything and now just sits back and leaves us to our own devices. Others believe He died in the last century and so doesn’t do anything anymore…that we are in charge. Still others believe God is always trying to punish and keep us from “fun!” So, what does God do? To answer that we cannot rely on our feelings or emotions…we must look into His Word…we find that He created but He is very much involved with His creation. He desires relationship with us! He loves us…He protects us…but He also hates things that will hurt and destroy us…He judges the unrighteous things out of His absolute holiness. A great summary of what God does can be found in Isaiah 40:21-31. (Please take time to read this!) In short…He is God!

But knowing who God is and what He does is just academic if we don’t live out the facts of what we know! Because God is who is says He is, we should live differently…we live in victory even when things are falling down around us because He says that He will never leave us, or forsake us. God knows that we are going to have struggles in our lives…Jesus said it best when he said, “In this world you are going to have troubles, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!” John 16:33 He has warned us but given assurance at the same time.

Our daughter-in-law was doing some Christmas shopping with her oldest child and while standing at the counter paying for her purchases, she warned him of not leaving her side since there were “strangers” all around who might want to hurt him. When she felt that her message was received and understood, she paid for her purchases and they continued to the next store. Holding to his mom’s hand, William entered the next store, looked up at the first person he saw and said, “Hey, stranger!!” and waved happily! Now, while we might think he didn’t understand the warning, what William understood was the very thing God wanted us to understand…yes, there are going to be things that will hurt us in this life…they are all around us…but as long as we are holding on to the hand of the one who loves us most, we can wave and smile in the face of it all.

I have thought of this in my own life and for this New Year, I want to live in victory. I don’t want to cower in fear or despair about the world’s situations. I want to hold tightly to His hand and when those things happen, I want to wave and say, “Hey, recession!” “Hey, sickness!” “Hey, world leaders!” I want to live in the assurance that He is there with me…for that is what He promised. I don’t want to despair as the disciples did when they were in the boat and a storm came. They just knew that Jesus didn’t care because He was asleep but the fact was, they were okay! Jesus, the one who created the sea, was in control even if it didn’t look like He was! The words Jesus spoke to them should ring in our ears when we are losing confidence in our storm, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4:40

So, in this year, (20-10; 2000-10???) I am going to resolve to hold tightly to His hand, knowing He loves me with an everlasting love. I resolve to walk closely by His side, listening to His voice! I resolve to, when faced with the “strangers” in life, to lift my hands in praise and shout, “Hey stranger! My God is an Awesome God!!”