Be a Blessing

Apr4

Yesterday, in what to me was a very simple gesture, I had the opportunity to be a blessing to two friends by 20120404-112624.jpg providing them with dinner at their office before they came to lead a Marriage Oneness group David and I attended. They’ve been working extremely hard on a huge event coming up next week, and they weren’t going to be able to go home before coming to lead us. I had a big container of leftover soup; they had a need for a meal. It was a simple blessing, but an encouragement to them.

Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (NIV).
Going out for a meal? Be a blessing to your server by leaving a generous tip and a kind “thank you.”
At the grocery store? Speak kindly to the cashier. Engage them in conversation.
Know of a widow or single mom who needs work done around their house? Offer to help.
Being a blessing doesn’t need to be something huge; sometimes just a kind word is a blessing to someone who doesn’t hear such things very often.
Who can you bless today?
Thankful today for:
166. Jesus’ death on the cross for my sins
167. The encouragement of my students’ moms
168. My husband’s love for our kids

Settling for Second Best

Apr3

When David and I had lived in Orlando for a year, we began planning to purchase a house. We had gotten a feel for the area and knew approximately what area of town we wanted to be in, so we began the hunt.

We found a house that we liked pretty well. We put in an offer which was countered. We accepted the counter, if I remember correctly, and then began to figure out financing.

Well, long story short, what we thought was going to be a monetary gift from someone turned out to be the offer of a loan, and we knew we couldn’t swing it financially with the priorities we had. Our realtor tried to talk us into it, giving us all kinds of reasons why it would be good to make the sacrifices we would need to in order to make it work.

Thing is, we had been praying the whole time that if this wasn’t what God wanted for us, that He would make that clear. This seemed pretty clear. We could have pushed it and made it work–kind of like forcing a square peg into a round hole–but it never would have felt right.

Instead, we put the house hunt on hold and waited to see what God would do.

A couple of months later we were driving down the road we always traveled to get to work when we saw a construction trailer with a sign about new houses going into a brand new subdivision. The price range listed was within reason for us. We’d be able to build brand new and be in a new neighborhood with people all moving in at the same time as us. Boy, did this ever seem like an answer to prayer.

Preconstruction prices, close enough to the office that David could ride his bike, brand new house, large corner lot, something in common with all our neighbors, and a price we could afford.

All because we waited on God instead of pushing our own ignorant desires. We learned a big lesson in that season: Don’t settle for second best; wait for God’s clear provision.

Thankful today for:
163. Carrot juice
164. Rain
165. The smell of new construction

Out of Control

Apr2

I think I just figured out what fear is: being out of control. When I enter a situation that is not familiar to me; when I face something I’ve never faced before; when I’m uncertain whether the outcome of something is going to be good or bad.

Faith is the peace that comes from knowing that He who is familiar with, yea even made, all things, has faced every situation and knows exactly what the outcome is going to be is right there by my side, holding me close.

I need to be out of control so that He can be in control. Boy, is that uncomfortable for me. And the only way for it to become more comfortable is for me to do it more often.

Do I trust Him or not?

Thankful today for:
157. Ministry partners
158. Indoor plumbing
159. Two more months until summer break
160. Our anticipated annual Easter gathering
161. The pool being ready for baptisms again
162. Ice

I Second That Emoticon

Mar31

I have a friend who has three boys. They’re grown now, but when they were younger, she described a time when she was trying to get all of her men to be able to share their feelings. After a few minutes, one of her boys piped up: “Well, I feel hungry.”

Don’t you wish there was an emoticon for everything we feel, even if we can’t describe it ourselves? I’ve been having fun with the new emoji keyboard I added to my iPhone, adding fun symbols to my texts and emails. This is what I think God’s emoticon would look like when He thinks of us:

😍

Thankful today for:

151. my brothers- and sisters-in-law

152. my nieces and nephews

153. new babies

154. upcoming weddings

155. the really, truly official start of baseball season

156. improvement in my injured elbow (don’t ask)

Going Out on a Broken Limb

Mar29

I was listening to a conversation between my husband and his mom tonight as she continues to try to figure out why she fell so hard to the colds that were running around our house, and why it’s taking her so long to get her strength back. Her bottom line? She went  out on a limb, going beyond what God had called her to do, and that limb broke beneath her.

If we feel overwhelmed, it’s not because God made us so; it’s because we’re not giving Him the burden, or it’s because, like my mother-in-law, we’ve taken on things we had no business taking on.

“Oh, but I love doing things for other people!” You might say. And doing things for other people is a good thing. But there are a lot of people out there who need things done for them. Does that mean you have to do it all?

“But God has given me the gift of (fill in the blank),” you might say. “I’m not fully using the gift He gave me if I don’t do (fill in the blank).”

But, but, but. We can always come up with good reasons to do the good things that we do. My mother-in-law is a piano teacher. Teaching kids how to make music is certainly not a bad thing. Nobody would say it was.

Bottom line, though, is that it was for freedom that Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1); not for slavery to “good deeds.” He sets the boundaries, He makes the calls, He directs our steps. We’ve got to ask Him what He wants and then listen to the response. If we don’t, we risk burnout.

Just ask my mother-in-law. She’s knows how that feels. And it doesn’t feel very good.

Thankful today for:

148. the beach

149. aloe

150. ibuprofen