Take Notice...

In the last week, I feel like God has been literally shouting a message to me, over and over again. 

First I heard it in our sermon on Sunday, which was about how men and women, God's creation, went so quickly from being "good" to greatly grieving God.  Men took their "freedom" to choose their own path, and choose they did...a path that quickly led them away from God an into corruption and all kinds of sin.

Next I listened to the message of Gideon, who was a fearful  and unlikely warrior but won a great battle because he allowed God to use him.  But in the wake of this battle, we saw him become conceited and turn away from God, which ultimately led to his destruction.

And finally tonight, I read the story of Elijah and Ahab on Mt. Carmel, and what happened to Elijah, right after he totally embarrassed Ahab and the prophets of Baal in front of all the people.  Jezebel threatened Elijah and he became very fearful and ran for his life.

The message I kept hearing in these stories was that sometimes God needs to make us weak in order to work through us...like in Gideon's case at the beginning of his story, God had to make it very apparent that the battle was won not by Gideon's strength or valor but by simply letting God work through him.

And a second message in common in these stories was that many times after a great "victory" we experience our greatest time of testing.  We go so quickly from the mountaintop, to a very deep valley.  The times we should be most wary of are not our times of trial, but our times of victory.  In those, we get caught up in our feelings of control and confidence and feel that we don't need God anymore...and that couldn't be any farther from the truth.

I appreciate all of these reminders, and as I have watched the kids playing together outside over the past week...I kept pondering how they apply to me.  When I stop to compare these stories, I can see that this is not a one-time decision we must make, but a daily, conscious effort, to put our trust in God, to surrender our stubborn wills over to Him, and to allow Him to work in and through us...and then take no credit for whatever happens!!

Take Notice! I can hear the Lord reminding me, over and over again.  Just when you start to become confident, when times are calm, when things start to go your way again...those are the moments when you are most likely to turn away from Me.

Take Notice!  Of all the things that I have done for you, that I do for you, day in and day out.  Just as my kids were enthralled by a tiny ladybug whose colors were "backwards" today, or by a snake a neighbor found in their backyard....I am reminded to stop from my constant pattern of blowing through the hours of the day without stopping to really notice the things that God is doing or the areas He may be calling to my attention.

God, forgive me please for not taking notice more often of the things you have done, and are still doing daily for me.  Keep me in a place of testing for as long as need be, so that I do not grow overly confident and turn my back on You.  I need you, desperately, every single day. 

Proverbs 30:7-9

“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

A snake from a neighbor's yard

Black Ladybug!

Treasure...

Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT)
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Where is your treasure?

I've been thinking about this a lot over the past week.  On Monday, we spent a good part of the day working on and planting seedlings in our garden.  Carter excitedly ran over to me to show me something he had found in one of our pots, a large clump of sprouting sunflowers.  Some little chipmunk must have gathered sunflower seeds from our bird feeders and buried them in the pot, hoping to enjoy them at a later time.  But he will never have the opportunity since they all sprouted into tiny sunflower plants!

I laughed to myself as we continued to work in the garden, thinking how often we too try to store up so many "treasures" here on earth only to be disappointed when they break or get lost or are taken away from us.  This also reminded me of a parable that Jesus taught about a rich but foolish man, who had much yet didn't share it with anyone else... 

Luke 12:15-21

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”  And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’  “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.  And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

We spent many hours outdoors on this gorgeous day, enjoying the sights of spring.  A dear family friend treated the kids to a long walk around his lake where we saw fish, ducks, turtles, glorious patches of buttercups, huge bullfrogs, and minnows.  This reminded me again of these two passages, about storing up our treasures in heaven, investing in our relationship with God and being rich toward Him.  These friends of ours have built a legacy of love by giving freely of their time (like today), and resources, and their treasures.  They have not hoarded for themselves, but give openly so that others might experience God more fully.

Invest in what will last...

I think about how that little chipmunk will feel when he returns to that flower pot with a rumbling belly, only to find, nothing.  I think about how many times I've treasured a possession, a relationship, something here on earth, only to have it taken away from me, and then realized the folly of cherishing it in the first place.

Help me, dear God, to cherish things that will truly last.  Help me to store up Your precious Word in my heart, to invest in my relationship with You, and to give freely of the blessings you pour out on me now, knowing that it is folly to worry about gathering up treasures anywhere besides Heaven...

God's Kaleidoscope...

 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

Psalm 40:16 (ESV)

While it is tempting to focus on the bad things going on in our world right now, I believe this time affords us such an amazing opportunity.  The absence of so many of our "usual distractions" gives us time to focus more on the small things we overlook every single day.  As my family enjoyed the warm sunshine over the weekend, I was struck by the kaleidoscope of colors I was witnessing in the birds, right in my own backyard.  Red, orange, yellow, green and blue...these aren't colors I would typically think of seeing in a tropical rain forest, not here in Western PA!  I did have to steal a hummingbird photo from last summer because I wasn't fast enough to capture that little guy but he started coming to our feeder yesterday and was back again today, despite the chilly weather!  And yes, the turkey, not wanting to be left out, has made multiple appearances over the last week also.

Great is the Lord!  

Do I need any more reasons to say this, continually?  And yet I am given new ones day after day.  God has saved me indeed from a life devoid of beauty and meaning and hope, and flooded my world with endless examples of His creativity, His love, and His purpose for me. 

I pray that wherever you find yourself today, no matter how bleak things may seem in your life, that you will still find opportunities to say, "Great is the Lord!"  Remember that His goodness supersedes all of our problems and pain.  The hope He offers us is not limited to the confines of this world.  What He gives us here are glimpses....reminders of all that is in store for those who trust in Him.

Great is the Lord!

Cardinal

Robin

Goldfinch

Baltimore Oriole

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Goldfinch

Tree Swallow

TURKEY!!

Good Soil...

Derrick has been working all week to install a fence around our backyard garden.  The problem with doing this in western PA is that our soil is absolutely terrible!!!  He had to dig almost 30 three-foot deep holes for the fence posts and it was grueling work.  There was so much rock in our yard, it's truly hard to believe anything could grow and digging that many holes seemed like an almost impossible task.  So after several  days of trying to dig the holes by hand with little progress, he rented an auger and he and Carter spent a good part of a day digging the holes using that.

I never gave much thought to soil until I became a homeowner.  Now it affects everything I plant in my garden and yard.  I have tried and failed so many times over the years to get so many different kinds of vegetables and flowers to grow in our rocky clay soil. 

Today, I planted some zinnia seeds with help from my little buddy Eva.  Though it will still be months until they flower, I look forward to those colorful blooms.  "Why aren't you just planting those seeds outside?" The other kids were sitting around the table watching me plant.  I explained that the seeds would get a better start in some good, loose potting soil than directly into the cold, hard ground.

Planting seeds and seeing the effect of good vs. bad soil reminds me of the parable of the farmer in Mark 4.  The farmer is scattering seeds on different types of soil and we learn the fate of each of these seeds.  Then Jesus goes on to explain what each one stands for.

Mark 4:13-20 (NLT)
Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Lawson, inside one of the 3 ft deep post holes!

This story is a solemn reminder, not just of the effects of soil on plants, but on people.  It vividly depicts the different pitfalls that so many believers of Christ fall into, and all the things that steal our joy, weaken our faith, and vie for our attention. 

Oh that I could be one of the seeds to fall on the good soil, and that my life could be one that produces a harvest.  Help my faith to truly take root, Lord, and let it be a light to many others. 

Called By Name...

John 10:3  (NLT)

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

"Where could Eva be?  I made her lunch but I don't know where she went.  And now this panda bear is here trying to eat her food.  Oh dear, I had better take it back to the zoo."

My monologue is interrupted by laughter and a cry of "Here I am, Mama!"

This girl loves  to hide.  She loves to play hide and seek over and over again.  She loves to conceal herself under blankets, behind pillows and curtains, and in outlandish disguises.  But I always know where she is, and who she is no matter how hard she tries to hide herself from me.

There is something very comforting about being known and called.  Being in the presence of someone who knows you and loves you brings great peace and bolsters courage to face otherwise frightening situations.

And that is what I love so much about God.  That is what endears me to Him more and more each day.  He knows me, and He calls me by name, and I am His.  I am constantly trying to hide myself from His presence, in my self-reliance, my task-oriented nature that causes me to put my head down and plow forward through my day without even giving Him a minute of my time or attention.  I put on a thinly-veiled facade of being capable of handling my problems on my own.  But He's always waiting in the wings, ever so patiently, anticipating my cry for help.  "I'm here, God...and I need Your help in this.  I'm struggling and I can't do this on my own."  My attempts at being self-sufficient are about as convincing to God as a giant panda costume.  He knows me better than I know myself...and He knows my deep need for a shepherd.

Here I am, God!  Please forgive me for even daring to think that I am capable of maneuvering my way through the many pitfalls of this world.  I know that with You by my side, I have nothing to fear.  You created me and You know me, far better than I even know myself.  I trust in You to sustain me and in Your wisdom to guide me through my day today, and every day.  Come and find me, and help me, and draw me near to You.  In Jesus precious Name, Amen.

Isaiah 43: 1-3

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.