And the name He calls is yours.

From Max Lucado's "Everyday Blessings"

January 11
The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them. - Luke 19:10 NCV

God will do what it takes - whatever it takes - to bring his children home.
He is the shepherd in search of His lamb. His legs are scratched, His feet are sore, and His eyes are burning. He scales the cliffs and traverses the fields. He explores the caves. He cups His hands to His mouth and calls into the canyon.
And the name He calls is yours.

Obedience is tearful

I am a nerd. I love books, computer games, datasheets, creating newsletters. Administration is my spiritual gift. That and writing. Give me data and I can create spreadsheets, charts, graphs and all sorts of analysis. At my last job, I was in my own little nerd heaven.

My new job is different. My job now is wonderful. I still do reports, which satisfies my inner nerd. But over all, I work with children. Wonderful, creative, imaginative little munchkins. They love so unconditionally. You can't help but fall in love with them.

And that is where the problem is. With spreadsheets, data, and computers the only thing you risk is a paper cut or carpel tunnel. Luckily band aids and new medical procedures make these pursuits relatively risk-free.

When you work with children though, you risk losing your heart. Having it ripped from your chest and crushed.

And obedience to God now has me with a bruised and tearful heart. I left my admin job for a multitude of reasons. And after a while I started working with children only part time. 2 1/2 years later I am now full time employed; getting to watch our little Berries grow. And it is a wonderful experience. To see the growth and development is truly amazing. Children are so smart, they are wonderful little sponges. My boss has created a wonderful environment for children to develop a love of learning. 

Working for, with and beside my boss has been an education in itself. She has a love for children and their whole being that is inspiring. She has cultivated an environment to where everyone feels like family. There is some dysfunction, but more importantly there is love.

Over the holiday's our attendance always drops. Parent's take time off to enjoy time with their children. So not seeing a certain little boy did give anyone pause. Earlier this week though, a little boy I will call H.G., did not return when most of our other students did. His mother emailed to let us know he was sick, contagious and should return next week.

This morning though things changed. His mother called our school early. One of our opening teachers answered the phone, noticing that the caller i.d. said Texas Children's Hospital. Our boss wasn't in, so H.G.'s mom said she would email later today. About 4:30, after several unanswered call's to his parent's, my boss heard from H.G.'s father. What they thought he had, he did not. It's much, much worse. He has leukemia, and first thing in the morning he will start treatment.

Spreadsheets are soo much safer for the heart! Driving home today was hard. I kept breaking down in tears. Even though he is 5, he is a baby! And baby's should not be sick with leukemia. It is just so hard to process. I have a 13 month old, she could get sick. Ugh! Deciding to work with children, meant risking my heart. And that is my obedience to God. My ministry is to serve wives, and that means children will be served. I know my job is where God wants me to be. And it is outside of my comfort zone. When you interact with people on a daily basis your lives are intertwined. And though it hurts, though I am scared, I will be tearful through this experience. He sees my tears, He hears my prayers. Our God is the Great Physician. He can bring healing into this situation. Please pray with us as we pray four our student.

Fill Up My Cup O'Lord!

Ah! New year, new promises to grasp, new opportunities, renewed possibilities.

I am blessed to attend a church that has numerous services throughout the week. Three on Sunday, a lunch service on Tuesday, and Wednesday night service. The first few years of my attendance I went to every singles service that I could. For the most part I was single, which did me good. If I was in church I did not have much opportunity to get into trouble. I also was apart of a Sunday School class and for a while our church had a Saturday night service that I attended.

As is known to happen, life happens, events arise that change how you do things. My church attendance did not change really once I became married. For a while my husband and I did attend a different church that blessed our lives. I worked in the church bookstore and was spiritually uplifted by the Women's ministry there. But once we found out we were expecting our first child we had to do some soul searching about our future. And one thing we decided to do was find a church near the home we would buy. We found a house near the church he grew up in and I had been a member of shortly after I moved to the area.

We have been blessed by our attendance. The Lord revealed my ministry shortly before we delivered our daughter. We dedicated our daughter a little over a year ago to the Lord. In fact our Pastor who dedicated our daughter is the same man who baptized my husband when he accepted the Lord. Our past, our family and our future are intertwined with our church and faith.

I always loved Wednesday night service. I looked forward to it every week. It was a mid week refreshing that did my whole being good. Once we had our daughter though, things changed for me. I eventually returned to work, but with a different schedule than before. For the past year I worked a bit later than I would have liked so I was unable to attend my beloved midweek service. Oh, but God is good. I now work yet another schedule and now I can attend.

Tonight was my return. The first Wednesday night service of the new year. And it was just what I needed. A great message on running in the right direction for the Lord, inspiring songs of worship and fellowship with friends. I eagerly look forward to next week. Hearing The Word, praying with believers and being filled by the Holy Spirit. May my cup run over!



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Let the bitterness go.

It's a new year, its a new month, think of January 2014 as a clean slate.

Oh wait, your bitter? Carrying around a grudge...for how long? Not to sound trite, but why? You can't have a clean slate unless you let go of the old.

Now don't get me wrong, I have been bitter before. I am from Texas, born and raised, and Texans give new meaning to the word stubborn. We can hold a grudge until the grudge cry's for mercy. But all children of God need to resolve any bitterness that is lingering in their lives. Bitterness can make you sick. And forgiveness is the cure.

This morning in church I had the privilege of hearing Dr. R.T. Kendall preach. He "served as Pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, England for twenty-five years. He is a powerful expositor of the Scriptures and a great lover of soul's"( per his bio provided by my church). He gave a powerful sermon on forgiveness, correction, Total Forgiveness. Let me tell you, if you have a chance, please check out the podcast on my church's website: fbp.org. What I am going to share will not even come close to comparing to hearing it from that good man.

The scriptures for today were Genesis 45:1-8. The backstory is the story of Joseph up to the 7 year famine that hit Egypt as Joseph interpreted from the dreams of Pharaoh. Joseph at the time is the Prime Minister of Egypt and is about to reveal himself to his 11 brothers. About 22 years prior those 11 brother's were jealous of Joseph (their father Jacob favored Joseph and didn't keep it to himself). On top of that, Joseph was a bit spoiled, prideful, and he was prophetic. He prophesized that one day he would rule over his brothers. So his jealous sibling's sought to kill him, but ended up selling him into slavery. Then they told their father that his favorite son was killed by a wild beast.

Back to the present, the famine is only in year 2 of 7, and Joseph's brother's are in Egypt looking for food (as P.M. of Egypt, Joseph made sure to put food aside for the lean years). They come up to the Prime Master to seek food, unaware of who he is. But Joseph knows who they are. And the old Joseph (the prideful Joseph) would have lorded over is brothers that he had been right. That his dreams did come true. But due to the events of the 22 years, Joseph was not who he once was.

Genesis 45:1-8

New King James Version (NKJV)

Joseph Revealed to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. ⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

 

Forgiveness. To forgive someone not only releases them from your bitterness but it releases yourself. The Book of Acts states that you are to pray for your enemy and to bless them. That is true religion. To ask the Lord to bless the one that has hurt you or done you wrong. It goes against our very nature, our flesh nature.

 

But we are not talking about going up to someone and saying, "I forgive you." We are talking about total forgiveness. And that has all to do with you and not much to do with them. How do you know if you have totally forgiven someone? Apply these 7 principles to your life:

 

1. Do not tell anyone what they did to you.
   Joseph sent everyone out; behind closed doors he revealed himself to his brothers, privately. Genesis 45:1, "and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!"'
   Joseph didn't want anyone in Egypt to know the story of how he came to Egypt. Joseph was considered a hero, and he wanted his brothers thought of the same way. If  word got out of what his brother's had done to him, they would have been hated.
   If you must talk about what has been done to you follow these guidelines:
1. Choose one person who will listen and listen only.
2. Tell God - He can handle it. Psalm 142:2-
   I pour out my complaint before Him;
   I declare before Him my trouble. 
2. Do not let them fear you.
   Joseph was in a position of power, and that power could have been used to punish his brother's for what they did to him. Instead he wanted to love on them (verse4).
   God is looking for someone not bitter to rise up. Small men want power to fuel vengeance. Small men encourage fear. Marriages would be healed if fingers stopped pointing.
   1 Corinthians 13:5
3. Want them to be free of guilt and self anger.
   Set them free. Forgiveness is not about them, it is about you. Most people who you hold a grudge against never even know they have done you wrong. Don't wait for them to be sorry, you will always be waiting!
   Grudges cause ill. Forgiveness heals!
4. Let them save face.

   Act like you don't know what they did. Put it behind you. Do not rub their noses in it!

   Verse 7 shows how Joseph did this. He let his brother's know that it was God who was in control of them sending Joseph to Egypt. Those who know the Gospel know that God is in control.
5. Protect them from their dark secret.
   Joseph's 11 brothers not only sold him into slavery but they lied to their father. They told him that his favorite son had been killed. Joseph gave his brother's the words to say to Jacob, to keep them safe from their father's wrath. See Genesis 45:9-28.
6. Forgive as long as you live.
   About 17 years later Jacob died, and Joseph's brothers came back to him seeking forgiveness. He did before and he did so again. Sometimes people will doubt that you truly forgave them, anytime they come to you seeking forgiveness give it to them, reassure them.
7. Bless them!
   Read Chapter 45 again. Joseph looked after his entire family. He provided them with a new home, food, clothing and honor.

 

Hearing Dr. Kendall preach this morning was just what this soul needed this first January in 2014. I realized that there were a few people in my past that I still was giving room to in my heart and my mind. I believe I now have forgiven them, totally forgiven them. And when I slip up and start to hold a grudge against them again, I need to turn back to God and remember that as He forgave me I need to again forgive them.

2013 in Review

I feel like I have done my readers a disservice. 2013 was meant to be the year I came out fire blazing and full of passion. My last post was in September. So not much passion obviously.

But 2013 was not like I thought it would be period. Adjusting to life with a child is a daily challenge. My daughter turned 13 months yesterday. She is so much more than I thought she could or would be. Walking, sometimes running, 12 teeth, sassy, loving, full of slobbery kisses and a complete joy. Trying to balance home, work, motherhood, being a wife, a servant to the Lord - it all takes balance. 2013 helped me get my feet under me. I stumbled along the way. Prayer fell off at times, as did daily Bible reading. My health suffered some. But the chapter known as 2013 is closed.

2014 is now upon us. I have a renewed spirit within me, one that is a little more realistic. Having a passion, a plan and ideas are great. As long as they are rooted in reality. My goals for W.I.F.E. in 2014 are this:

• Complete the Bible Study I am working up, based around the legacy's that women in the Bible have left us. I have begun writing it! So that is an accomplishment in itself. Then see about getting it published!
• Share on this blog at least twice a week. Either an insight from the Lord, an inspiring verse or song, or a detailed post .

Personally here are my goals that I believe will help me establish my ministry as God has called me:

• Read my Bible daily.
• Pray without ceasing.
• Finish memorizing The Book of James. Then move onto memorizing The Book of Ruth.
• Lay out 5 Bible verses that apply to my daughter and say them with her and over her daily.
• Ask my husband consistently what his prayer needs are.

These aren't resolutions to kick off the new year. I have never been a fan of that concept. I prefer to try and better myself continually throughout the year.

Please join me regularly to see what God is doing in my life as He reveals to me what it means to be a W.I.F.E. to Him.