The Riches of His "No"

The kids and I were in the car the other day and we were listening to "Forever Reign," from Hillsong Live. There's a line that says, "the riches of your love will always be enough..." Riley asked me what "the riches of His no," was...she had heard it wrong. I was thinking about that this morning because the song was on again on my way to the grocery store, and something hit me...the riches of His "no." Have you ever thought about that? That there are riches, things to be gained and won, when He says, "No," or when He seems slow to move to answer prayer or rescue us from situations that are uncomfortable, stressful or painful?

Listen to this:

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1

My natural tendency when I am in distress is to ask to be rescued, "God make it go away!" But often, He says , "Not yet." When those not yets come, then what? "Consider it pure joy." Say what? According to these verses, there are some good things that come from suffering and trials...perseverence, wisdom, patience, maturity, character, and even hope, of all things. Hope in the midst of hardship? Absolutely. Our hope is not in circumstances changing, but in the One who has the power to change them...or not change them. When you shift your focus off of feeling better, and shift it toward God, toward bringing Him glory in all things, you gain an eternal perspective. And that's where hope is...in the joy set before us, ahead of us, and that can give us joy now.

We are not completed works. We are in process...we haven't become, but are becoming. In order to become something beautiful, something pure and spotless, without mixture...24K...we have to go through the fire - the Refiner's fire. Don't serve your circumstances, make them serve you. What the enemy means for harm, God intends for good. Stay in the process and plunder the situation for its riches - take everything out with you that you can.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Like Incense/Sometimes By Step

I feel like my body is trying to fight off some kind of sickness...I refuse to get the flu this year. Or strep throat. I've been drinking Airborne...I know people that swear by it, but it is so nasty! It's almost as bad as drinking the colonoscopy prep. Almost. And I feel like I did something ridiculous today (imagine that)...I hate that feeling. But I'm thankful for grace.

Meanwhile, I cannot stop listening to this song. This line especially, has become my prayer (that it would become true of me):

"Because you gladly lean to lead the humble, I shall gladly kneel to leave my pride"

which now has me wondering if He lets me do and say things that feel ridiculous to that end. Am I willing to look foolish or be misunderstood? I just want to learn to love people...why am I so awkward at it?

First Things First

My pastor spoke on putting first things first yesterday, and it might as well have been just for me. Everyone else could have stayed in bed ;) I've been so frustrated and behind on things, and I knew why. It's because I wasn't prioritizing. I have been so tired lately and the lack of energy had me pretty unmotivated to try and accomplish anything. He used that illustration with the jar and the big rocks and the little rocks, and how the only way everything fits is if the big ones go in first. The sad thing is that I almost tuned him out, thinking, "I've heard this before." That attitude could be a sermon in itself, but for now I'll skip that and get to the point.

I did pay attention because order is the very thing that I've been seeking. If I am going to be able to accomplish anything outside of my home, do the things that are in my heart to do, my home has got to be in order. There has to be a baseline set...where things are basically as they should be, and only require regular maintenance (which is time consuming, but not as much when you are starting from chaos). My Sunday afternoon was VERY productive and I kicked some clutter butt! Sorry, that sounded juvenile didn't it? Guess what...I don't care ;)

I have decided (or felt led) not to lead a small group this spring for this purpose: to get my world in order and to seek and listen to God about what I am to be doing, where my focus should be. The opportunities and needs of our world are overwhelming, so I am asking that God would lead me by compassion. In other words, He would give me His compassion for the people and things He is calling me to focus on...where I should put my time and energy and where we should invest our finances. You do know that giving sacrificially to ministry is an investment, right? Listen to this from The Message version of the Bible (this is not your version to use for study, but I like the way this was worded.)

"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." Matthew 6:19-21

Here is the link to yesterday's message at church...take a listen...it was very practical - if you apply the principles, your life will change. Period. Your disorder may not be the same as mine, but I guarantee you've got some things out of whack...we all do. It's just too easy in this world to get sidetracked. Every now and then it's just good to take inventory. Take a listen...

http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/ you can watch it here or download it from itunes.

Bloggers Remorse

So, I am experiencing blogger's remorse. I'm new to blogging, so I don't know the "lingo," but I'm calling it that. I have edited the previous post, and if you happened to read it pre-edit and were offended by something I said, then forgive me! I was being silly and wasn't thinking, but today it occurred to me (read: I was hit with a tidal wave of, "oh my gosh, what were you thinking?") that some people that don't know me might wander over to my blog and not understand that I really do try to be careful with my words and actions, so as not to offend or confuse people about where I stand. If you didn't read it, you are probably really wondering what I said, but too bad! It wasn't that bad, I just had a moment of "realness," as my friend Sarah put it. So, once again I apologize if you were offended.

Just a Random Post

Tonight Dave and I had a much needed dinner date. We went to a Chinese restaurant we'd never been to before and I was a little concerned because we were the ONLY people there...on Friday night...in a college town...when everyone is back. He actually intended to go to another one down the street, but got confused. Once we were in and saw the menu he realized it wasn't the right one, because it didn't have Pad Thai, but we were kind of stuck by then.

A couple more people did come in, but still...I debated about whether to eat off the buffet or the menu. I figured off the menu would be fresher, but I ended up opting for the buffet. It was still steaming so I assume that means it stayed nice and hot and nothing was growing on it. I hope. It was pretty good, but honestly I have yet to find a Chinese restaurant that can serve me breaded chicken that isn't soggy. The rice was really good, though, and that's my favorite thing.

I learned this from my fortune cookie: in English, we say two heads are better than one (that was my fortune). In Spanish, they apparently say, four eyes see better than two (that was the Spanish version on the back).

We then went to Gap where I tried on about 5 pairs of jeans, and came out with none. I'm obsessed with jeans and finding the perfect pair. I thought had found them in my Gap sexy boot jeans, but either they stretched or I shrunk. I never used to understand people who said they couldn't find jeans that fit, but now I get it...it's so hard!

After that we came back home and played a game of Scrabble Flash with Caeley. If you haven't played it before, it's an electronic game where you have five squares, and each one has a letter (the letters change each round). You put them together to spell words and they are programmed to "know" when you've made a word. We were playing the game where you have a set amount of time to make one four letter word from your letters and the time gets shorter and shorter as you go on. I think they have some serious bugs to work out. We failed to make words like "fiar" (not even an English word), "oldy" (not a word, according to answers.com, anyway), and "defi" (which was listed on answers.com as an obscure word). Next time we play old-school Scrabble, you better believe I'll be busting out some of these.

All in all it was a great night and was much needed. I had been feeling sad and disconnected for the last few days. I guess I just needed some fun and laughter with the family.

Proverbs 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Nose Rings and Mug Shots

My motto in life for the last several months has been this: "There is power in confession." I may have blogged about that in a previous post...can't remember. If I haven't then I should. I'm not really writing about that here, though, it's just a lead-in :) I was reading Amanda's blog - http://babybangs.blogspot.com/ - and thought it would be fun to share some confessions and then ask you to share one, too. These aren't anything serious - it's not wise to share certain things in a public space...know what I'm saying? Here we go:

• I secretly wish I could get a teeny tiny cute little diamond nose ring. But, a.) I'm too old, b.) I'm not cool enough to pull it off and c.) I'd probably change my mind immediately because I would worry that I looked like a "heathern" and have a third hole in my nose (if you have a nose ring, I don't think you look like a "heathern")
• I have a dream that one day I will be the voice of some cartoon character, like Dory, in Finding Nemo, for a Disney movie.
• When I'm alone at home, or in the car, I talk to myself and sing in wierd voices just to keep myself entertained. Sometimes I skip (not in the car).
• I wish I had a big old truck with huge mud tires to drive just for fun.
• I HATE having my picture taken because I always look awful. And I secretly wonder if it's really that I always look that way!
• I once had my driver's license suspended because I forgot to pay a ticket.
• I wish I was on staff at my church. I don't know what I would do, though. I'm not exactly bursting with skills.
• I want to write a book. But, about what, I don't know, yet.
• This one was originally in the post, but I deleted it. Now I'm adding it back, since I'm no longer in an official leadership position at any church anywhere ;) There once existed, in a file, on a desk in a sheriffs office, a beautiful mugshot of my face...little sign with the numbers and all. I got caught sharing a beer with an under-aged friend, in college...17 years ago...long time ago...and had to get booked. Photo, fingerprints, the works. Oh yeah, and they showed up at my parents' house at 6am with an arrest warrant. Rude. My dad drove me down to get booked. He made me ride in the back of the sherriff's car. It was an amazing experience. Very strange. 

Okay, your turn. Seriously...let's hear it.

Favorite Things

One of the sweetest things to me is putting Christopher, our fourth and last baby, to bed. If you've got kids, I'm sure you can relate - well, maybe, if you've got one that doesn't mind bedtimes. Out of the four kids he's been the only one to ever suck his thumb and I just think it is so precious. We'll talk again in a few years and I'll let you know if I still think it's precious. He only does it at bedtime and only in the presence of his blanket. Our routine is to go into his room, turn off the light, turn on the sound machine and then I hand him his blanket...and the thumb goes into his mouth. The next part is what I love. As soon as he gets hold of his thumb he lays his head on my shoulder, and it stays there - for about 4.5 seconds, then he pops his head up and looks me in the eye, smiles and says, "dadadadadadada," which by the way, is NOT "Daddy". Just saying. I say it back to him and then his head crashes back down on my shoulder, for another few seconds and he pops back up - "dadadadada," and so on until he is finally ready to lay down and he leans toward his bed. I lay him down and he looks at me with such a sweet little smile, thumb in mouth, clutching his blanket. And that's it. I love it and am thinking about how this won't last much longer. He's growing up. I will cherish these sweet baby moments.

What are the moments you cherish?