Monthly Archives: January 2011

Look up!

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When does it happen, the transition from glory to glory?  You know, that place where you don’t exactly understand how God does what God does in your life.  Does anyone else have moments when you wonder just exactly how God transforms you?  Have you had experiences in your past when you were doing something that you didn’t want to do, you prayed and prayed about it, seemingly praying to an unhearing Lord?  And then one day, when you least expect it, you realize you’ve  changed.  It’s like looking up into a July 4th night and suddenly out of the darkness shoots this unbelievably beautiful burst of color and sound that you can feel way down in the pit of your stomach.  Wow, where did that come from?

A number of years ago I decided to quit smoking…yet again.  I’d quit numerous times before.  I had begged God to deliver me from this habit.  I cried.  I bargained.  I did everything I could think of but no matter how hard I tried, I could not quit smoking.  To say I felt like a failure is the understatement of the century.  I struggled with smoking for almost the entire time I smoked, all 25+ years (unbelievably I didn’t keep track of when I finally quit!).

One day, I decided this was it, I was trying yet again.  A number of co-workers in my office had quit smoking recently and I figured this was a perfect time to jump on the bandwagon too.  With them not running outside at break time to have a smoke, I knew there would be others I could commiserate with.  I have to admit that I used a nicotine patch to help me, but at this point in my life, I figured that anything that might help would be just fine.  There were struggles some days, but somehow it happened.  I quit smoking!  It’s been about 15 years now and I’m astounded when I think back on this.  After struggling for over 25 years, I was finally a non-smoker.

As I think back on this, I realize that I finally surrendered to God about my smoking habit.  I quit bargaining.  I quit trying to muster my willpower.  I quit trying to make God guilty for not answering my prayers.  I quit being mad at God for not helping me.  I quit.  Period.  And although I never heard the words, I figure God said something like, “well, I’ve been waiting for this day Linda, for a long time.  Now I can help you.”  And it was about that easy.  Only it was hard!

I think I’m in another of those places.  Thankfully this isn’t such a gut-wrenching place as that was, but this place in my life has been no less frustrating.  This one has had to do with my purposes.  You know, the scripture a lot of us cherish; Jeremiah 29:11, all about God’s plans for us, to give us a future and a hope.  I’ve hung my hat on this scripture for many years.  It’s been prophesied over me, prayed over me, and used as encouragement for me.  And I’ve been waiting.  Patiently (most of the time).  “I want a future and a hope Lord.  Can we get on with this please?  I’m not getting any younger you know!”

I’m finding myself in this place of transition.  I didn’t see it coming and I’m not quite sure when it started.  But I’ve been writing a lot about waiting, expecting, surrendering.  And today, I can see something has changed.  The recent dream of giving birth to triplets (December) seems to have broken something loose in the heavenly realm and I can sense shifting going on in my life.  To say I’m excited doesn’t quite cover it.  No, I’m more in awe of what is happening.  I feel more like the clay that the potter is molding and a sense of the vase or vessel is beginning to take shape in my mind.

I learned quite awhile ago that when I hear from the Lord or when something happens in my life that I’m certain the Lord has orchestrated, I’m obligated to share with others.  God has been teaching me that movement or change in me is a sure signal that movement or change is happening in the lives of others too.  Why?  Because we’re all a family and when God is transforming, He’s moving in all our lives in one way or another.  So, I want to encourage you to look up!  God is at work in your life.  He’s all about wanting to transform us, moving us from glory to glory.  If you’re struggling right now, know that He’s working on the solution, the provision, the change.  It’s happening, whether you’re aware of it or not.  Maybe tomorrow you’ll realize that something is shifting in your world too.  I hope so.  I’m praying so.  If you see it, write about it here.  Let’s confirm that God is at work in our lives!

Trust Him, Love Him!

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I read something today that really caught me.  It said, “trust Him, for that is how we love Him.”

Psalm 91:2 (AMP) I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!

Think about it.  How do we show that we love someone?  I just spent a bit of time with my grandchildren.  They trust me about a few things.  They know that I’m going to undoubtedly say something that will make them laugh.  They trust that I will feed them.  They trust that they are safe when they come to spend time with us.  All these things add up in my mind to the fact that they love me.

Well, our Father longs for the same thing.  When we read His Word, we’re showing Him that we trust in what the Bible tells us.  When we get a nudge from the Holy Spirit about, oh say He wants us to tell someone something, and we go ahead and do it, we’re showing that we trust Him.  When we reach outside our comfort zone and tell someone about how much our heavenly Father loves them, we’re showing God that we trust Him, His Word, and His directives that this is exactly what we’re supposed to do.

God longs for us to trust Him and in so doing, we display our love for Him.  Father, I pray that today and all my tomorrows I will trust you more and more with my life, my purposes, and my directions.  I may not know where You are necessarily taking me at any given point in time, but Lord, I want you to help me trust you in those unknown moments.

God is so tremendously magnificent and creative, if we were to know what the next moment, or day, or week looked like, we’d more than likely make a mess of things.  He will do so much more than we can imagine or think.  Ask God to help you trust, even when you don’t have a clue what’s happening around you and you can’t seem to make heads or tails of where God is taking you!  This is why it is so important to remember where you’ve come from.  Did you get to this point because you did everything correctly?  I don’t think so.  What DID the Lord do for you in those times past?  Remember those moments…they will help you trust in these moments of questioning or darkness or just stillness.

Trust Him…He’s smiling every time you do!

I’m Posting Every Week!

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I’m Posting every week in 2011…well, almost every week, I’ve actually skipped one already!

I’ve decided I want to blog more. Rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting right now.  I will be posting on this blog once a week for all of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy, but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similiar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.

Signed,

Linda

Impossible? Not with God…

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Blogging has its issues.  Like you have to do it.  The last couple of weeks have been blogging-less because, well, nothing has been there to blog.  My husband would probably challenge that statement because he thinks I’m an endless stream of words in comparison to him.  Whatever.

There has been a lot going on within me in the past few weeks.  I’ve been chewing a lot on what I’ve been hearing from God.  There have been many fits and starts about what I’m to do right now.  Remember the dream recently about having triplets?  Well, there have been a couple more dreams that have been equally interesting.

And then there are the books I’ve been reading.  “God in the Yard” has led me to pursue God.  Not that I always hear anything, but simply waiting on Him has been a very good thing for me right now.  I’m living a new, unfamiliar style…waiting on God for the next move.  In the past, I’d have bolted by now, making something happen out of my frustration, boredom, whatever.  Not right now.  I’ve determined that making something happen isn’t necessarily what God would have me do if He had His way.  After many errors along the way, I’m satisfied to wait on Him right now.

Our pastor has recommended another book, one he’s actually using as the basis for his preaching right now.  It’s called, “Wild Goose Chase” by Mark Batterson.  Whoa!  What a book.  I think this is my all time favorite book.  It is compelling.  I blasted my way through this book, it is that good.  In fact, I wish I’d written this book!  🙂  Wild Goose Chase will ask you direct questions about your walk with the Lord and will make you squirm.  Oh yes, I’ve been squirming here.

The final reading I want to share with you today is out of  “Experiencing God Day by Day”, a devotional by Henry T. and Richard Blackaby.  The reading was out of Luke 1:37; “For with God, nothing will be impossible.”  It begins discussing the wonder of Jesus’ birth…how God made something impossible (a virgin birth) become possible.  The reading continues, “When God speaks of doing the impossible, it is no longer absurd.  When was the last time God spoke to you about what He wanted to do and you were scared to death by its magnitude?”

And there you have it, right where I’m living.  I’ve heard God speak to me about something He wants to do through me and I’m scared to death!  What if I fail?  What if I can’t?  What if?  No, no, no, I’m not getting it.  “For with God, nothing is impossible.”  Mary absolutely had the right answer, that she was open to anything God wanted to do through her.

Becoming pregnant wasn’t something Mary could do.  He didn’t ask her to get pregnant, He just presented the possibility of using her and, thankfully, she said a bold YES!  She didn’t take time to think it over, she didn’t bolt from the magnitude of the request, she simply said yes.  “Yes, God.  You can use me to do this thing that seems utterly impossible to me.  Yes.”

She didn’t get all tangled up in projecting into the future about what might happen if she said yes.  She didn’t stumble on such things as “will I make a good mother, what if I can’t get pregnant, what if my whole town rejects me?”  She didn’t go to any of those places.  She just said yes.

The point is that God doesn’t want me to become someone else, a suddenly devout, error-less saint who does everything right, knows no sin, and has the talents to do anything for God.  He knows what He’s doing in asking…”will you trust me?”  He has His reasons for asking you and me to do anything for Him.  It’s our job to trust Him and simply say yes.

That’s where I’ve been the last couple of weeks…wrestling with myself over something I’ve heard.  I have a choice.  Will I allow the fears, the unknowns, the magnitude of His request to stop me?  Or will I just say yes and then trust Him, that He can make the impossible happen?  I just have to say yes and begin.  At least He’s not asking me to become pregnant and bear the Savior of the world!!  Whew!