Pick Me!

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”  Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)

Recently, I got a call from a friend asking if I wanted to help with something. The something was rather large and will take a lot of commitment for a long period of time. I told him I'd pray about it.

As I was praying, I was giving God my 'what ifs." What if my time is too pressed? What if with this on my plate there is too much work to do? What if you don't want me to do this and I'm walking down the wrong path?

As I went over this in my prayers, I started hearing different questions.  What if I am sending you? What if this is exactly where I want you to be? What if I am going to do something great in this? And then, do you trust that I am in control? That was followed by two Bible texts.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9 and
The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Psalm 138:8

Over the next few days I wondered how many time God asks "Who will go for us?" and we ask the wrong what if questions (out of fear) and don't budge. Instead, shouldn't we be saying, like Isaiah, "Pick me! Pick me!" (This is accompanied by excitedly jumping up and down.)

I decided to say yes and leave it in God's hands. If he wants me there, he will work it out. And if he doesn't, it won't work out. I am definitely learning a new level of trust and I am super excited to see where he leads.

A Minute In It - God's Got This

A minute in God's word will change your life. Today, I woke up feeling that even my lists had lists. I was overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough hours in my days. As I turned to my Bible and some of the blogs I read, the texts below were in every single one. I think God was trying to tell me to let go and trust him. 

Read God's promises below. Claim one. Write it down and carry it with you today. When you start to feel overwhelmed and out of control, read it and remember who really is in control.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.  Psalm 138:8

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.  2 Corinthians 4:1

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  Jeremiah 17:7

Did I Say That Out Loud?

What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. Job 7:17-18 (NLT)

Have you ever had something come out of your mouth and realize (almost immediately) that you should have not said it? We joke around and say "Did I say that out loud?" and we laugh. But seriously. I do this more than I would like.

I can make all kinds of excuses about how my brain is going too fast or my schedule is too full or I need a break and all those may be true but in reality, excuses aside, I am responsible for my tongue.

One of the disciplines I have been learning and practicing is the discipline of talking to God while I am talking to someone else. While I am having a conversation with them, I ask God "Is there something you want me to say?" or "How can I help them? How can I comfort them?" Interestingly, the answer is sometimes to not say anything. Sometimes, the answer is to just be there and listen.

I have found that when I practice this, I regret less and less the things I say. I have less instances of beating myself up and having to ask forgiveness of God and the people I love. I also have more instances of joy because I was more helpful and able to listen well. I especially find great satisfaction in knowing that God was in control of that conversation.

I am still learning this discipline. I still forget to engage God when I'm going too fast. I'm praying about it and God is teaching me. I love that he pays attention to even our smallest conversations and is involved with what we do.

Father God, Examine me. Examine me every morning and every evening and every moment in between.  Teach me to be more like Jesus. Amen.

What Makes You Blessed?

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Matthew 5:3 (NLT)

Thank you. I am blessed.

How many times have you heard that? And maybe we are blessed but, somehow I don't think God's definition of blessed is the same as ours.

When someone says "I like your ____________(fill in the blank)." and we reply "Thank you, I am blessed.", is that really what God meant when he said "Blessed are ..........?

God says we are blessed when we are poor in spirit (broken) not when we have stuff. God says we are blessed when we realize all this stuff doesn't matter. We are blessed when we know that without him we are nothing.

So let me ask you. Why is it you think you are blessed? And more importantly, are you willing to be broken to be blessed God's way?

Worshipping No Matter What

“Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:” ‭‭Job‬ ‭1:20‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Can you imagine? There was Job. He was having a normal kind of day, minding his own business - being very faithful to God - and all of a sudden in the blink of an eye, he lost everything. He lost his children, all of his workers and his livelihood. Everything he owned that made him happy and wealthy was gone.

When one after the other Job was given the bad news the Bible says he fell to the ground and worshiped. I have to tell you, I can see falling to the ground because he collapsed from grief or falling to the ground because he passed out; but the Bible is pretty clear. He fell down and worshiped. In verse 21 he follows up with "Blessed be the Name of the Lord."

What is it that allowed Job to bless the Lord's name even in the midst of calamity? What in his life did he possess that caused him to say "It's God's to do with what he will" instead of "God, why are you doing this to me?" The Bible says Job was devoted to God. When you read the first few verses of Job, it sounds like it was his heart's desire to please God and that he actively pursued this life-style. 

When disaster struck, Job didn't think first about the bad things that were happening, he thought first about his relationship with God. He went there first. He looked at and leaned in to what he knew and what he trusted.

Maybe, this is why God - even though he knew Satan's character - said "Look, look at my friend Job." God knew Job's heart. He knew Job just like Job knew Him.

I want to be more like Job. 

Spiritual Conversations

“Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7 (NLT)

I walked into the grocery store and headed straight to the bakery. I knew what I wanted and I had limited time. I stood there and looked around for someone to help me. Nada. I looked for a bell to ring...perhaps by the big sign that said "We are always here to help you. We'll be happy to write anything you want on your cake." I looked from the sign back to empty bakery area.

I finally opted to go down to the deli counter and ask them if they could call someone. As I walked back to the bakery counter I heard the loud speaker announcement that a customer needed help in the bakery.

The lady appeared from the back and asked what I needed. I explained that I wanted to buy one of the cakes and have something written on it. She responded "I'd be happy to do that for you but it's not going to look good, I have terrible hand-writing." I said "Excuse me?" She repeated herself. And as she was taking the lid off of the cake she followed up with "And I'm sick." 

Now, I am a pretty expressive person so a lot of thoughts were going through my head about how to handle this and what to say. I started with "Stop (I didn't want her germs all over my cake.)" I told her it was OK, I would write on the cake myself meanwhile thinking that my writing was certainly worse than hers and why was she 1) working in a bakery offering to write on my cake if her handwriting was terrible and 2) why was she even at work if she was sick!

So she starts to hand me the cake, without the cover, across the counter. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm giving it to you so you can write on it." Now, my mind is racing with more not nice thoughts wondering how I was supposed to stand there, hold it with one hand and write on it with the other? I bit my tongue.  I explained to her that is would do it at home.  All this time, I resolved to go complain to the manager.

Needless to say, there was more unproductive conversation but just as I was about to open my mouth to tell her my opinion I heard "Ask her why she's sick." The thought was so overwhelming, I did it. She told me. Then, I heard "Tell her it's OK and that you'll take it home and take care of it." So I did. As she handed me the cake over the counter (this time with the lid on it), I heard "Tell her you hope she feels better." I obeyed.

As I walked away resolving to just go home and not tell the manager, I knew God had intervened. If I had told her what I thought, I would have felt terrible and so would she. I am so very thankful that God spoke up and turned off the "This is not how I am supposed to be treated" speakerphone that was going off in my head and replaced it with "Do you see the woman behind the counter?" voice.

I got home and my son (who has much better cake decorating skills than I do) wrote on the cake for me.  All was right with the world and more importantly, all was right with my soul. Thank you, God!

I Want A Double Portion Please

When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”
And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”
“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:9-11 (NLT)

Elisha did get to see Elijah being carried away. And he went on to inherit a double portion of Elijah's spirit. But there is a part to this story that I didn't pick up on in the past.

As they were walking along, three times Elijah stopped in different towns and three times told Elisha to stay. Elisha said "No, thank you. I am in this til the end." And he kept on walking. Imagine if Elisha had stopped at any of those towns. He wouldn't have received the gift of God's Spirit that was waiting for him.

There were prophets at every town. None of them followed. They were content to stay where they were and do what they were doing. Elisha was not. Elisha wanted all of what God was offering to him. He wanted to experience all of his calling so he pressed on. He kept moving forward.

How many times do we stop before what God wants for us is realized? How many times to we wait for something huge to happen instead of following what we already know we should do?

What is God calling you to do today? Have you stopped short of the final destination?

Time to Breathe

Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward
    on a firm footing.
Psalm 143:10 (NLT)

I look at the balls I juggle and sometimes step back and wonder "What is it I could not be doing?" Actually, a better question would be "Lord, what is it that isn't important to you?"

In the circle of people I talk to regularly, we all have too many things on our plate. And the thoughts about managing it all go round and round. Am I ready for the meeting I have today? What should we have for dinner? When was the last time I cleaned the Living Room? What are my duties at church this weekend? Did I remember to pay that bill? When was the last time my husband and I had date night? Did the kids get their homework done? Did they turn it in? I need to schedule time to ______________.

There are so many more. In the buzzing and whirling of what seems to be our lives, it's really hard to lose focus on what God is asking us to do. How do you do that? How do you sort through the million thoughts to find that one that is the most important? How do you identify it and then put it at the top of the priority list so it gets done?

I am seriously asking. I want to know how to do this. I want to make sure that what God is asking of me is not getting drowned out in a list too long of things that are not so important.

The only place I know to start is on my knees. When I stop and pray, sometimes the chaos stops long enough for me to hear Him (this is directly proportional to how long I linger). Sometimes if I wait, I calm down enough to relax and focus.

I know I don't have the answer to everything but I know who does.  All I have to do is slow down, talk to him and take some time to breathe.