Tag Archive | faith

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Jan31

ImageWe have a couple of varieties of animals that have become worrisome for me. Our hermit crabs, Alex and Titan, have been buried since the day after we brought Alex home from the pet store to replace our dear departed Charlotte a couple of days after Christmas. Hermit crabs, if they are healthy, molt on a regular basis, shedding their old, tight exoskeleton for a bigger and shinier one. (Well, maybe not the shinier part, but you get the idea.) From what I’ve read, that’s a very stressful process for them and, depending on their size, this can take many weeks, maybe even a couple of months. What’s hard for us is the waiting. They know what they’re doing naturally, but they are hidden from our sight, not eating, not drinking, not seeing the light of day. It’s been more than a month now, and I’m beginning to worry that they didn’t make it.

Our second worrisome set is a trio of kuhli loaches we bought to help control the snail population in our aquarium. They had been recommended by my fish guru, Tiffaney, who assured me that these eel-like creatures would be munching escargot soon. Well, I can’t find them now. They’ve shown themselves a few times, but rarely, and the snail population flourishes. I don’t know much about them, but Tiffaney says they’re shy, and the forums say they like to bury themselves, but I’m beginning to fear they might not be alive either! We purchased three, and at any given time I’ve only seen two, and the last time was several days ago, maybe even a week. Loachies! Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Crabs and loaches. And God.

Do you ever fear that He might not be around anymore? Does it seem like a really long time since you last heard from Him?

John 20:29 records this interchange between Jesus and Thomas, His disciple: “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'”

I’m not sure about the kuhlis and the crabs, but I know about God. Enjoy this song from The Newsboys, declaring the truth that He is alive!

Thankful today for:

789. my singing bird

790. fast-moving clouds doused in sunrise

791. maturity

792. the freedom to gather and pray

793. godly leaders

794. new friendships

795. education

796. spontaneous visits from faraway family

797. surprises

798. new life

799. laughter

800. music

801. talented people

802. mistakes overcome

803. the journey

804. new stuff

805. reminiscing

806. indoor plumbing (just sayin’)

807. my students

808. a breeze

809. books

810. quiet

Take the Leap

Jun3

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Every year at our church, just before school lets out for summer, a family hosts all the kids in Sunday school at their house for a lake party. They break out all the water toys they have, load on the life vests, ask everyone to bring snacks to share, and then let everyone have hours of fun in the water.

One of the highlights for many of the kids is jumping off the rope swing that hangs from a tree near their neighbor’s dock. You climb high up on this dock, grab the rope with a hook, and jump off, letting go of the rope just in time to land out in the water, deep enough to not get hurt.

That’s the goal, anyway.

So, wanting to be the cool mom, one year I let my “friends” and my kids talk me into giving it a try.

I’ve never been more terrified in my life.

It didn’t matter that I had watched others take that plunge many, many times; when it came to talking myself into stepping off of that incredibly high dock holding onto that incredibly thin rope and dropping into that incredibly deep water, I. Was. Terrified.

I let 6-year-olds go in front of me.

Here’s the thing: Had I been jumping off high docks my whole life, I wouldn’t have even given it a second thought. I would have taken that rope and jumped gleefully, trusting that I would land in that water and not suffer any consequences. But I have lived a safe, uneventful–some might call it a boring–life. Extreme sports are not my thing.

Faith is like that. If I live a safe life, my need for great faith seems to be very small. Taking that leap when I need to see God do extreme things is very, very scary. But if I trust Him daily for all the huge things that He is capable of doing, faith–stepping off that dock–is just like walking on solid ground.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6.)

Thankful today for:
339. An afternoon at the lake
340. A faithful God
341. Singing
342. Faithful old men
343. Talented people
344. Technology

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

Fear Itself

Mar6

Worry. Fear. Anxiety. Call it what you want. None of it is good.

God gives us so much reassurance in His Word that we really have nothing to fear and that, in fact, perfect love casts out fear (“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).

Jesus told us that there was no use in worrying about tomorrow; today has enough trouble of its own (“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” Matt. 6:34).

In Psalm 27, verse 1, King David encourages us: “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

There are many, many more verses I could list with the uselessness of worrying or being afraid. God gives us an abundance of promises that He will always be with us. We don’t need to fear those who can kill our bodies but cannot touch our immortal souls.

I used to fear disease and serious illness. God has given me a measure of victory over that. Do I still get anxious about things? Yes. I don’t feel comfortable going to new places by myself. I don’t like it when my kids or husband are sick. But I don’t live in fear. I life in faith.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his inaugural address in 1932, said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” At the height of the Great Depression, the president was attempting to communicate to the people that their fear of the future was causing panic and irrational decisions. If they would remain calm, believe in themselves, they’d be all right.

A healthy dose of faith in the Living God would have helped many of them also, but FDR’s heart was in the right place. If we let fear overtake us, then we’re bound to go down the wrong road. Hand in hand with the Prince of Peace, we will live healthier and happier lives.

Thankful today for:

84. the happy heart my daughter has that causes her to sing, whistle and hum ALL THE TIME

85. new challenges

86. forgiveness

Be Patient, God’s Not Finished With Me Yet

Feb28

It’s ironic to think that only when we die are we done. None of us reach perfection while we’re here on earth. The best we can hope for is strong character and what Peter talked about in his second letter: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:5-9, New International Version).

I know I expect more out of my kids. They say to me, “You probably argued with your brother and sisters when you were a kid.” “You probably didn’t clean your room when you were a kid.”Image

Frankly, I have very little memory of my early interaction with my siblings, but I can’t really picture a dirty room in my head. I don’t remember being at odds with my brother and sisters much of the time. But even if I did experience those things, I didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit helping me. My kids do.

How often do I tell them, “Treat others the way you want to be treated”? How frequently do I remind them, “They will know we are Christians by our love, one for another”? How many times do I say, “Do not repay evil for evil, but repay evil with good”? In one ear, out the other. That’s what it feels like.

So, I pray maturity comes before permanent damage is done. And I try to remember the grace God gives me on a daily basis as He refrains from reminding me to be patient, to not judge others, do be generous and open-hearted.

I’m not in such great shape myself. And so we can all benefit by wearing a button that says, “Be patient; God isn’t finished with me yet.”

Thankful today for:

63, the life of Martin Luther

64. my back porch

65. pink roses