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A 9-Year-Old’s Analogy

Jun11

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The other night while Morgan and I were out on a date in the pouring rain, she gave me this analogy:

Life is like being in the rain; sin and bad things fall on us, but Jesus is the umbrella. He protects us from the bad things and the sin. Without Him, we would get soaked by those things.

Pretty profound for a 9-year-old, right?

Anyone who has been in a Florida thunderstorm knows that when the wind blows, the rain comes in sideways. You still get a bit wet, but not nearly so much as you would without that umbrella.

We who have Christ are not immune from bad things happening to us. We still are touched by sin. But God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Thanks, Morgan

Thankful today for:
357. The smell of candles
358. Fresh melon for breakfast
359. Lake parties my kids love
360. People who have great ideas
361. Nathan’s crazy sense of humor that makes not-so-fun tasks go by more quickly
362. New clothes
363. New mercies every morning
364. Sunshine
365. Shadows

Luna, the Little Lost Dog

May23

On Thursday, my niece in the Seattle area posted on her Facebook page that they had lost their little dog, Luna. I have never met Luna, but my heart went out to them. Apparently, my nephew had come to take her with him on a bike ride, couldn’t find her collar, and took her without it. She had, after all, never strayed from him before.

ImageBut this time was different, and Luna got away.

If you’ve ever suffered the heartache of a lost pet, you know that it’s very real. No, they are not people, but they are certainly members of our family. My younger sister in Colorado reposted the picture of Luna, asking friends in the Issaquah area to keep an eye out. I, in Florida mind you, reposted the picture of Luna, asking my friends in the Pacific Northwest to keep an eye out if they happened to be in the right area. We prayed, we asked friends to pray, all for one little lost dog.

No, more than that, for a member of my sister’s family.

Bummer was, where she was lost was 20 miles away from my sister’s house. She wasn’t going to be able to get out and look for her until today. On Monday, my niece posted that there had been a Luna sighting by someone who had seen the “missing dog” posters they had put up in the area. Hope was reborn. I was so glad, thinking maybe she was in danger of being eaten by a mountain lion. I don’t even know if there are mountain lions in the area.

Yesterday, my niece went looking for her again. Came home wet and dogless.

Then today, hope was reborn again when they got a call this morning that Luna had been seen in the backyard of someone who had seen the signs. God is good. As soon as she could, my sister headed to the area where Luna had been seen, and took their other dog with her.

Within a couple of hours I received this text from my sister: “Luna has been found!” Three minutes later, my niece chimed in: “My mom just found Luna!”

She was roaming around some neighborhoods and just came running when my sister called. Both of them were hysterically happy to have found each other again.

Even though I had never met her, I shed some tears at Luna’s return.

This reminds me of two Bible verses: “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:4).

And “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

When my niece posted that Luna was lost, people everywhere went into action, praying that the God Who Sees would bring her home. Lost though she was, Luna would not go to the first person who spotted her, though his intentions were clearly good. She didn’t know him, and she wouldn’t go. But as soon as she heard my sister’s voice, she came running. She knew her master’s voice, and she loves her, so she came running.

When my sister saw her, I can only imagine the joy that filled her heart. One she loved had been found. There was great rejoicing–not only in her heart and in her household, but for all of us who had been praying for this end.

How much more does God rejoice when one whom He loves returns to Him. There is much rejoicing, as Luke records that Jesus said. And for those of us who have been praying for those who are lost, there is no better news.

Welcome home, Luna!

Thankful today for:

309. kindhearted people

310. Luna’s return

311. hope that turns to joy

If God is For Us

Mar9

If God is for us, who can be against us? And conversely, if God is against us, who can be for us?

When a problem comes up, do you pick up the phone first and call the experts, or do you pray?

When you’re making a decision, do you list the pros and cons first, or do you pray?

When you’re having a meeting, do you just have it, or do you pray first and throughout that meeting?

Let me tell you a story of a time when we dramatically saw God work after we prayed.

Our school, Trace Academy, rents space from my church. At the beginning of this school year, our facility underwent a fire inspection. This is a regular occurrence. When I was the one in charge of the facility, I had the same inspector every year and we never had any problems. This year, a different inspector came. And apparently, this inspector thought very highly of her authority. She gave the usual laundry list of things to move, fix or improve for fire safety, but then she fixated on the fact that we had four or five preschoolers being cared for in the nursery while their moms were working on campus.

What she determined could have shut us down.

So after panicking for a few moments, we were called to pray. I specifically prayed that God would either change this woman’s heart, or that He would remove her from her position.

Long story short, several weeks later–we had a 30-day deadline–the person now responsible for the facility for our school tried to call this inspector. Time after time she was unable to get in touch with her. Finally, someone else in the fire inspector’s office told us that she was no longer with the department. (!)

Is that a God story or what? They sent a new inspector who gave us a clean bill of health, and we were able to Imagecontinue business as usual, only with a more clear sense that God is on our side, and that we are doing what He wants us to do. I believe as a direct result of prayer, that fire that could have devastated us was extinguished.

Honestly, no authority on earth could have shut us down if God wanted us to keep going. We believe what we’re doing is from Him, and a power-hungry bureaucrat is not going to be able to shut that down.

David and Goliath

Paul and the Roman guards

Jesus and the grave

What God wants to accomplish and whomever He wants to use can never be defeated.

Thankful today for:

93. glasses

94. the sound of someone else doing the vacuuming

95. date night with my younger boy

No Fear

Feb27

For years and years I have struggled with anxiety. Before I became a follower of Jesus, I didn’t know what to do about it. I would feel sick to my stomach and have terrible heart palpitations. 

 

Since then, though, I would be frustrated that I didn’t feel instant peace when I prayed for it. Then 

ImageI learned a great secret: focus on God, not my situation. The advent of the iPod helped me tremendously as I created a playlist of songs that glorified God and helped me focus on who He is. Anytime I felt anxious, I would plug in that playlist and rest in the arms of my Savior.

Now, if I think I’m in a situation that might be anxiety producing, I am proactive, and start the music even before I feel the anxiety. And guess what? The instances of anxiety have greatly lessened.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.The one who fears is not made perfect in love” 1 John 4:18.

Perfect love, perfectly at peace. Ahhhhhhh.

Thankful today for:

I’ve been told that I already said what 59 was yesterday, so I’ll change it here:

59. candles

60. rain

61. horses

62. a night at home after a busy day

The Marriage Mystery

Feb6

In 25 days, David and I will celebrate 21 years of marriage. I can honestly say that, while not easy in the sense that we don’t have to work at it, it’s always been good.

Neither of us had great examples. My dad found it hard to give a compliment, though I think he would have done anything for my mom. And though they were both dedicated church goers, my siblings and I were not brought up to honor the Word of God. But they stayed married, for better or for worse.

David’s parents separated after 48 years of marriage,.

So, David and I are pretty determined to doing everything we can to make our marriage great. We’ve read multitudes of books. We’ve been to marriage conferences and, though I selfishly fought it for years, we saw a marriage counselor about 5 years ago. 

Best move we ever made. It wasn’t that we were in really bad shape, but there were some attitudes and barriers that we just couldn’t overcome without some professional advice. Reading today in Ephesians 5:33, I am reminded that I need to do whatever I can to make my marriage great not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because David and I are a reflection of Christ and the Church. How we live our married lives is a picture to the world of the mystery that is Christ and the Church. I want to be a master painter of that work of art.