BLOGS
A few weeks ago I cleared off my treadmill that I keep in our basement storage room. I took off the boxes of Easter eggs, the camping gear and the gigantic stuffed rabbit (a story for another day). I blew off the dust as best I could and started it up to make sure it still worked. Yep, it was ready for action! I would be fit and trim in no time, I was sure of it.
So, have I lost weight? Taken inches off my waist? Am I down a couple jean sizes? Well, um, let me see, ah… no, no and no. Hard to believe yes, the simple act of preparing my treadmill was not enough to scare the fat cells right off of me (even when I ran it really fast to blow the dust away). What gives? Can’t I just have the appearance of fitness? Can’t I just make my treadmill look well used and walk around in sporty clothes? I could add some free weights and resistance bands to the scene. I could talk as if I actually exercise. Oh the lengths we will go to attempt to keep up appearances. Yet the evidence of how we truly live is as plain as day. I could do any or all of the above, but if I never put the effort into getting fit or make regular use of that treadmill I will remain the same. No true change can be faked. If I am out of shape now, I will remain out of shape until I do something about it. Ouch, man the truth hurts sometimes! Just as I won’t be mistaken for a fitness buff, someone faking the Christian walk will not be mistaken for a true follower of Christ. You can call yourself a Christian, carry a Bible, attend services, celebrate holidays, and decorate yourself with religious knickknacks but you are fooling no one. If your daily actions and what comes out of your mouth does not line up with the Word of God you are an obvious imposter. The Bible tells us that a tree is recognized by its fruit. “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit.” – Luke 6:43-44. You know what type of tree it is by what it produces. A peach tree does not produce coconuts. What fruit does a Christian tree produce? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23. Good works are also produced, springing forth from the faith in Christ that resides in us (see James 2:14-26). Jesus goes on to say in Luke 6:45, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Whatever is inside is destined to come out and it is evidence of what your heart is full of. Remember this works from the inside out; you do not work to be joyful in order to change your heart. True joy can only flow out of a changed heart. What do you hear and see coming out of the hearts of those around you? Is it proper for us to evaluate others like this? If we love them it is (2 Timothy 3:16). If I see one of my children producing thorns in their life or hear evil coming out of their mouth, I need to correct them and deal with this heart issue. If I see a friend who says she is a Christian but acts in a way completely opposite of the Word of God; I need to confront her with grace because I care about her. What is coming out of your own heart? Does it show that you have been filling up on God or the trash of the World? It is very easy to get filled up with garbage; it is what most people do all day long. A heart full of godliness does not happen by osmosis. You have to intentionally consume and study God’s Word. Do the hard work it takes, Ladies! Don’t just blow the dust off your Bibles like I did my treadmill. Make use of it to change your heart and your eternal physical condition. I enCOURAGE you to check what fruit you are producing today and remember to continually fill up on the only true source of good for your heart, the Word of God. Easter weekend has passed and I find myself breathing a sigh of relief. The remnants of a busy weekend remain visible all over my house. Thousands of plastic eggs from the city egg hunt are stacked in boxes in the corner, Easter baskets and the treasures that they originally held are scattered on the dining room table. I am still catching up on laundry and the housework that was ignored for other activities. Candy wrappers seem to be everywhere, why did I buy all that candy again?
With the holiday over we can begin to focus on spring projects, gardening ideas and plans for the summer. A nice break from the extra celebrations, services and gatherings. I’m sure that is what the disciples were thinking when all the commotion Jesus had caused subsided. Jesus did the work he had promised to do: he died, rose again and then ascended into Heaven where he belonged. They finally had time to put in a new vineyard, redecorate the messy upper room and go fishing. What a relief to have that crazy Passover celebration behind them. What did the early Christians do after Jesus left them? How can we know what the apostles were busy with after all this took place? How convenient that a book was written to address these very questions (and many more). It falls right in proper order after the recordings of the life of Jesus found in the gospels and is entitled “Acts” or “The Acts of the Apostles.” The Bible comes through again. Check out Acts 1:8, as Jesus is ascending into Heaven he promises that they (the apostles) “will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in all Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Sounds like Jesus had some serious work for these men to do. After this the disciples head back to Jerusalem and enter into an upper room. The names of all the apostles are listed and then we read in verse 14, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” The first thing they did was to meet together and seek God in prayer. We need to continue to meet together through church services, Bible studies and times of fellowship. We also need to be in prayer and seeking God’s will, strength and wisdom. Not many days later was the day of Pentecost, another Jewish festival. The disciples of Jesus were once again gathered together, “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” Acts 2:2, 4. The promised Helper had come, the Spirit of God to dwell within the believers. The Holy Spirit that teaches us (John 14:26), helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26), and empowers us to do God’s will (John 14:15-16) and produce good spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Yes, this same Holy Spirit dwells in believers today. If you are a true follower of Jesus, these promises of the Holy Spirit are for you just like they were for the disciples long ago. Believe it and act accordingly. In the days, weeks and years that followed the awesome commotion of Jesus Christ on earth these men became bold and courageously preached the gospel, evangelized the nations and changed history forever. They did not take a season off, they did not let up; they followed hard after Christ giving everything they had in full surrender to his will. What a beautiful example for us today. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, it was a decisive victory over death and over our Enemy. However, it is not the ending, it is the means to a beautiful beginning. We need to be more intentional than ever before in maturing in our knowledge of Christ and growing the Kingdom of God, we should never let up in this area. I enCOURAGE you to not lay back and relax spiritually after celebrating Easter, but to dig in and seek Christ with renewed passion this season and always. Nothing happens by chance, there is no such thing as good luck, bad luck or coincidences, and there is purpose in everything. These are what comfort me late on Friday night as I watch smoke roll out of the building that was once our family business. God is in this. He has a plan… for my husband, for the business, for the city, and for me.
How do people live when they don’t understand this? When they feel that life is random? To feel as if their lives hinge on whether good or bad luck comes their way. That is no way to live; that is not the abundant life we are promised in John 10:10. If our life paths are left up in the air depending on what decisions we make and what luck we have then God is a liar. Psalms 139:16 - Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. This is not just pretty poetry; these are the words of Mighty Creator God through his servant David. He has written out every day of your life even before he formed you. Let the immensity of this hit you in the face. If you ever feel as if God does not know (and love) you, read the entirety of Psalms 139. Your feet do not walk a path by chance. If this is news to you don’t despair, it is something that has taken me years to grasp, and I still struggle with it. So what is God’s plan in burning down our family business? The business that was started 44 years ago, built with hard work, is all my husband has ever known and provides for our family? I don’t know. I don’t need to know, I just need to trust that God knows. And really, that is everything to me. Maybe God wants to rebuild the business even better, maybe he wants to sever our dependence on something other than him, maybe God desires more of our attention. Maybe all of these things. One thing I’m sure of is that our prayers have become richer, our faith in Christ more sure, and our love for others deeper. The blessings are abounding already. Had things been different and life been lost in this fire, God would still be good. We would still praise him. I like to picture our praise rising up to God just like the smoke from the fire. In Old Testament times, sacrificial offerings would be burned on an alter and the aroma that arose from this pleased the Lord (Numbers 29:2). I want my praise to do the same. I want God to burn away anything in my life that detracts me from him. I leave it all on the table. God knew long ago that this fire would take place and that our lives would experience a shift. He also knows exactly how he plans to use this for his glory and I look so forward to that. Having dealt with tragedy in the past (more severe than this) I am honestly filled with excitement in anticipation of what God will do through this. I plan to be a part of it and wouldn’t miss it for the world. His love for us is overwhelming. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31, 32. If you were in the midst of a struggle with deep loneliness and I told you I could relate because I experienced two weeks of loneliness, would that hold much weight with you? Probably not. What if instead, I told you that I experienced years of loneliness and can easily remember the pain and the times I cried out to God begging him to send just one good friend into my life. Does that change things? I believe it does.
I dealt with loneliness in my life during a time when I was living on my own, raising my son, and working very hard to get through nursing school and work a part time job. I was surrounded by others and stayed very busy, but I did not have even one close friend. It was a painful time in many ways and I just couldn’t understand why God was allowing it; especially for what seemed like such a long time. However, it was during those years that I dug deep into God. I had been a believer for a while and trusted that God knew my struggles and would provide for me (even if I didn’t appreciate his time table). I read his Word and held tight to his promises, like God being a “Father of the fatherless” in Psalm 68:5 and the comforting words of “I will never leave you or forsake you.” in Hebrews 12:5. Did I still struggle with anger and bitterness? You bet, but even then God was patient and faithful. I now look back and nearly explode with thanksgiving in what I see God was doing in my life at that time. I praise him for giving me tools I never would have had if that time had been easy and without burdens. I can relate to so many more women now than ever before. Not just with loneliness but a slew of other difficulties too. I received real life experiences that equipped me to battle alongside other women today. It has taken me years to admit to the depth of loneliness I experienced during that time, but as I pursue a ministry of transparency, I am finding that so many women are able to relate to my experience. I can minister to them because God led me through this fire early on in life. He let me go through years of pain so that I would remember it well. So that I can now hug a hurting woman and say to her, “I know how you feel, let me tell you what God did in my life.” God speaks to this in 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. What about you? What afflictions has God allowed in your life in order for you to better minister to others? Are you dealing with a chronic illness, a troubled marriage, or a difficult child? Do you feel like the situation will never end? This may be hard to grasp now, but God WILL use this for good in your life and very likely for the good of others too. Dig deep into him during this time and be determined to cling to Christ no matter what, knowing that you will receive comfort from him as promised above. My life looks much different than it did back then, but I am so thankful for what God allowed and how he is faithful in using everything for my good and more importantly for his glory. I can now understand how what one day seems like such a heavy burden can later be seen as a gift. Don’t waste the gifts God is giving you right now. Use whatever is causing you pain to drive you toward Christ and turn what the Enemy planned for your harm into good. Maybe you know the pain of cancer, losing a child, or depression. God has allowed you to know this pain for a reason, don’t waste it. Yep, I called that “s” word beautiful. That’s how I see it. Well…now anyway. I’m finally starting to get it. There were many years when that word would come up in a sermon like in Ephesians 5:24, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands,” I could feel my eyes rolling back in my head and the curtain would fall. No need to listen to rest of what the minister was going to say, I wasn’t interested.
It took a few years of growing in faith until I accepted that it was scripture from God and therefore true and valuable. However, even after a few years into our marriage, I didn’t put it into practice. It just didn’t seem practical, especially when my husband could be a total dope at times. Seems fair, right? I will submit to him when he shapes up and loves me like Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25), otherwise the deal is off. Oh my…thank you God for being so patient with me. So how did I come to see beauty in submission instead of feeling it was an insult? I finally got my sight fixed. Instead of seeing these verses as a service to my husband alone, I realized it was my service to Christ. Phil was not calling me to submit, Jesus was. Why? Because he loves me like crazy and has plans to use our marriage in awesome ways if it is built up correctly. The more I get to know my Savior, the more I want to please and serve him. And, yes, I have discovered through trial and error (lots of error) that His way is ALWAYS best, no exceptions. We need to get things straight, Ladies. If you think submission = weakness, inferiority, or conformity against better judgment you are sorely ignorant just like I was. Would you use these same qualities to describe Jesus? I don’t think so, probably just the opposite. In fact, Jesus is our perfect example of submission. Jesus is God and therefore equal to God yet he was called to submission to fulfill his role in God’s plan. John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” Jesus submitted to his Father God, even unto death. Matthew 26: 39, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” You can see that we as wives have been called to a very noble role indeed. One that Jesus powerfully undertook willingly. Yes, our husbands also model a role of Jesus through authority and leadership. That is the role they have been called to in service. We have separate but equal roles, Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So get that sense of inferiority out of your head right now (haven’t you read about the Proverbs 31 woman?). As wives we have the authority and responsibility to share our wisdom, and provide discernment and input to our husbands as they make decisions, but they have the task of making the final call. They will not always choose right, but this does not relieve us of our calling from Christ. No, we should never follow our husbands into sin; God is still our absolute authority. However, we will not always agree on decisions made. This is a great time to use the dynamic power of submission to influence our husbands toward Christ. Pray for them, love them and serve them in a Christ-like fashion. You will be amazed at the changes these alone can bring about. Take back what the Enemy is trying to steal from you in your marriage relationship. Don’t let the world twist the beauty that God has ordained. Submission holds incredible power and has life changing abilities when put into proper practice. It is a powerful position that God has placed his daughters in. Claim it as yours and wield it with style and passion. Ladies, do you ever wonder what your husband would be like without you? Yes, he would probably survive but would he thrive like he does with you by his side? Do you make him better with how you treat him? Do the words you say to him cause him to want to lead better, to be more like Jesus for his family? These are some tough questions but good measures for how we are performing our role. They also show the potency of our gifts as helpers in marriage. Are you a help to your husband, do you add honor to his life… or take it away? God created man in such a way that he is better when woman is there by his side helping him as no one else can. I encourage you to be that wife that proudly comes up beside your man and uses your God given gifts together to glorify your Creator. Okay, so if you haven’t heard, I recently enlisted in a Couch to 5K (C25K) program in preparation of running my first 5K event ever at the Anamosa Pumpkinfest. In order to share in this pleasure I also signed up my oldest son, Wyatt, to run with me. Wyatt and I are not in the best shape and in fact we lean quite heavily toward the couch side of this equation (pun intended). We are well aware of our physical shortcoming so we thought this program would be a good place to start.
The very first night of our training came and I admit we were slightly nervous. One consolation was that we figured there had to be a few people in the group who were similar to us (i.e. heavy and slow). We arrived and started to make our way to the group gathered next to the track. Right away we knew we were in trouble. The majority was slim and looked quite fit. One woman gave us hope by her appearance but she soon revealed that she was a former track coach. One guy was doing stretches I had never seen before. Despite our initial evaluation, Wyatt and I walked bravely up to the group and introduced ourselves; everyone was very nice. In the back of my head I thought, “Once again my purpose here may be to make others feel better about themselves.” Once the running began it was soon apparent that sometimes you can judge books by their covers. Wyatt and I quickly fell to the back of the pack, trudging along at the speed we could manage. It wasn’t too long before we decided that this was perfectly okay, now the others will be impressed with any improvement they see in us, including showing up next week. We could do nothing but laugh between gasping for breath as some of the runners lapped us. The super stretchy guy we cleverly nick named “Mr. Speedy” since he ran past us so fast we could feel a breeze. Later he would become known as “Ol’ Three-Lapper”, I think you can guess why. Now, while it is fun to laugh at the situation above, I want to talk about another type of race that should be taken very seriously. It says in 1 Timothy 4:8, “For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” We need to be training ourselves spiritually in godliness. This not only has value for today but for eternity as the verse states. Did you get that? For ETERNITY. The writer of Hebrews even compared the life of faith to a race: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 Picture your spiritual journey as a race. Not a race against each other, but a race toward Christ likeness. As the verse above states we are to keep our eyes trained on Jesus as the “founder” (or originator) of our faith. He calls us to faith in him, like he’s picking us for his team. Jesus is also the “perfecter” (or refiner) of our faith through sanctification, so he is also our trainer. We aren’t told to stroll along hoping to pick up some wisdom here and there as life and time allows. We are called to run, and run “with endurance”! So run, girl, run! Work hard at becoming more like Jesus. There is also wise training advice contained in these awesome verses. We are told to get rid of dead weight, “…lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely…” Ever try to run a race while carrying large bags of trash? No, that would be stupid, so is carrying sins while we try to be more like Jesus. So lay aside anything that even potentially hinders your spiritual growth. Take the time to really think about this one please. While you are running you will gain strength and encouragement from God’s Word, since it is your sustenance (Matthew 4:4). Jesus will be ever near with his commandment of “Go” (Matthew 28:19). Paul also spoke of this race in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” This verse even promises a prize for running the race well, a “crown of righteousness”. This does sound like an exciting prize, but far greater than that will be praise from our Savior when we get to the finish line (Matthew 25:21). Wyatt and I will have ups and downs as we train and many more laughs along the way (especially since I told him we have to dress up like big pumpkins). But our true race is one towards Christ and that race is the only one that really matters. So, Ladies, its time; lace up your running shoes and step out on the track. Set your eyes on Jesus and run, girl, run! For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4
My goal in beginning this new adventure of blog writing is to encourage women to live a life that exalts Christ. My desire is to use God’s Word and real life examples to spur each of you on to live a life that is unlike those around you; to live for God alone. To do this it takes courage; that is what I want to instill in you. Courage. Courage to walk a different path than most, courage to read the Bible when you don’t feel like it, courage to tell the World “no” and Jesus “yes”. To do this I will give honest advice and wisdom gleaned from the standard of Truth which is the Word of God. What I teach may not always be pleasant and I may not always use tender words, but I will write everything in love. I want nothing less for you than what God wants for you. A life lived for his purpose and glory. God’s plan for your life beats anything you could ever dream up. |
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