Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The New Girl
Monday, October 22, 2012
Benefits of a Storm
1. Storms can bring much needed rain not only to the affected area, but to many surrounding areas as well. As many of us have learned this summer, rain is very important! Rain does more than just keep our yards looking nice and green, it causes our food to grow which causes animals to be fed which causes prices to remain stable and on down the line.
2. Tropical storms are critical for coastal islands to remain afloat. The winds and waves of these strong storms make islands taller and wider by moving the sand. Without these storms, islands would become thinner and smaller and eventually disappear.
3. Much of the destruction done during tropical storms is to structures along the coast. Builders have gone to great lengths to build structures closer and closer to the water. The techniques they have used not only put people in harms way, they actually contribute to the massive damage done during storms.
We all experience storms in life. Some are mild, some are of hurricane proportion. Although storms are not pleasant at the time, there are benefits. Storms can cause us to grow. Not only do we grow, but we are able to care for and encourage others in new ways. Storms build our foundation. When we are hit by the storms of life, a lot of not so important things are washed away and we clearly see what is important. To minimize the damage sustained during our storms, we need to remain in God's word and allow it to guide us away from things that will harms us and into truth and righteousness.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Miscarriage: Our Journey
Heaven
In this world...
Expecting
My Psalm
Christian
He Does
Offering
Routine
Trust Jesus
Walking on Water
Spring is Coming
Baby Boy
Waiting in Expectation
I Trust You
Lessons from the Shunammite Woman Part I
Lessons from the Shunammite Woman Part II
Saturday, July 14, 2012
An Epic Adventure
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Friday, July 13, 2012
The Voice
After one of these overstimulating games, I hopped in the car with my 7 year old. We drove in silence for a few minutes until I decided to take hold of a teachable moment. "Owen, you have a really great soccer coach. He knows a lot about soccer. I can tell he likes the game. He does a great job of teaching you different skills and then he reminds you to try out those skills in the game. I also can see that he cares about you. He talks to you a lot and gives you special things to work on. He really seems to know the things you are good at and the things that are tricky for you. He tells you good job when you d try a new skill and reminds you when you forget something he has taught you." Owen's response... "uh huh." I decided to plow ahead. "Do you know what I noticed today? Sometimes you don't hear your coach. Sometimes your coach is telling you to do something, but you don't hear him because there is so much noise and other stuff going on. There was even one time when he was trying to tell you good job, but you were too busy being silly with your teammate. Owen, you need to learn to listen for your coach's voice. There will always be noise and other distractions, but if you really listen, you will be able to hear him. You want to know what he is saying. Remember, he knows soccer and he knows you and he wants to help you. Owen's response... "okay."
Although I really do want Owen to listen to his coach, my deepest desire is for him to learn to hear the voice of Jesus. It is the voice that leads us beside quiet waters and guides us in paths of righteousness. It is the voice that calms the storms and the voice that heals. It is the voice of peace and truth. As this world becomes increasingly creative in ways to attract our attention, there is a constant, still small voice that beckons us to come and listen and live.
Matthew 11:15 He who has ears, let him hear.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
A Little Child
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Alway Expect a Trial
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Lessons from the Shunammite Woman Part 2
I learned a lot from the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4 (see previous post), but then I discovered that she makes headlines again in 2 Kings 8. Here it is in NIV…
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” 2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land. 4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to beg the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
I was so excited when I read this! That horrible experience that the Shunammite woman went through was more than just a heart check. God redeemed that tragic incident in her life and used it for her good—to bless her and her family abundantly at just the right time! I guess I knew that, but to see it played out in Scripture reminded me of God’s love and goodness and grace.
To the God of grace who redeems our broken dreams and is working in ways we can not even fathom, to Him be all the glory and honor and praise forever, Amen!
Romans 8:28 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.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Lessons from the Shunammite Woman Part 1
2 Kings 4:8-37 tells the story of a woman from the Biblical city of Shunem. We know that she was “well-to-do” with a knack for hospitality. Upon recognizing that Elisha was a “holy man of God,” she and her aged husband built a room on their roof for the prophet to stay whenever he came.
To thank the woman, Elisha announced that she would have a son. The woman objected, not because she didn’t want a child, but because she did not want to get her hopes up. She had given up this dream years ago.
Fast forward one year and, just as Elisha said, the woman was holding a newborn son in her arms. Her dream had come true. Now, fast forward a few more years… the child goes out to his father in the field and tells him that he has a headache. He is taken to his mother and ends up dying in her arms.
Was this some sort of cruel joke? Why would God allow her dream of having a child to come true and then snatch her dream away? This is the question Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer was asking in Me, Myself & Bob. God had given him a big dream. He wanted to do big things for God through media. He aspired to be the Christian Walt Disney. It looked like he was on his way to achieving this dream. God was doing amazing things as Veggie Tales exploded in popularity. Then it all fell apart. Eventually, Phil Vischer lost everything. His company went bankrupt and all he had worked so hard for was gone. What was God doing?
We know that God does not look at what man looks at. God looks at the heart. Perhaps God was looking into the hearts of the Shunammite woman and Phil Vischer to determine who or what they loved the most—God or their dream? When we suffer the loss of a dream, we have the opportunity to declare our allegiance. Who or what matters most to us? Will we cling to our dreams or will we hold fast to our God?
So, how does the story end? As Phil Vischer suggests, sometimes God gives us our dream back and sometimes he doesn’t… and that’s okay. The Shunammite quickly heads out to find Elisha who returns to Shunem with the woman and does a miracle. The boy’s life is restored. As for Phil Vischer, Big Idea and Veggie Tales are gone, but he is currently creating for his new company Jellyfish Labs. Perhaps God is giving him new dreams. The lesson we can learn in all this is that God plus nothing is enough. There is no dream, no ministry, no achievement that can add to who God is in our lives. He is enough… He is everything!
As important as this lesson has been in my life, I am so excited about what God taught me a few chapters later through this same woman. I’ll post again soon with the amazing sequel of the Shunammite’s story!