House Upon The Rock

Why is Faith so Puzzling?

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 02:23:00 +0000

I found this uncredited quote as an answer to a cryptogram in my puzzle book. I could not find a reference for it online, so I don't know where it originated if not by the puzzle makers themselves, but it is just one example of why I believe atheists have more faith than Christians.

It reads: "Nature is wonderful. Millions of years ago she didn't know we would be wearing glasses, yet look where she put our ears."

Psalm 139:13-16 in the NIV Bible reads: "13 For you [God] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

I find it much easier to have faith in a God who loves me enough to pre-plan my existence than I do in random chance. I also find it easier to believe that nature itself is a creation of God than to believe that nature is able to create things.

Like a cryptogram, God has hidden himself in nature, not so we can't find him, but so we can! He's left clues of himself everywhere. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

Perhaps it's a matter of mistaking the value of the creation over the value of the creator, but I think it takes greater faith to believe anything other than "God created." That's just not a mistake I'm willing to take a chance on.

Doubt or Strength?

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:34:00 +0000

I read a quote on power yesterday. Here's my version of it:

"When you doubt your strengths, you give strength to your doubt."

You've been gifted with talent and skills for a reason.

Don't let misguided thoughts or other people's criticism squash them.

People need what you have to offer.

It's okay to accept that you're good at something!

You need to elevate your self to educate others; not in pride, but position.

If you see yourself as less able than you are, you have disabled yourself.

Trust what you know to be strong in you and put it to use today.

That is real power.

Run Your Race To Win

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:25:00 +0000

Her breathing was heavier now. If not for the noisome rush of air being drawn in and then forced from her lungs, she swore she would have heard her heart beating directly into her ears. It was now a struggle to keep her legs moving, pushing her body forward down the track. Highly tensed muscles burned from the demanding task required, but she willed them to keep going, to press on.

A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that her best friend and constant running companion had fallen behind in this race. It saddened her to think of going ahead without the one who got her racing in the first place, but slowing down was not an option. She had trained to win. Surely, her friend would understand that. It wasn’t her fault that her friend hadn’t trained as hard or wasn’t willing to put forth as much effort.

No, she had to shake these thoughts from her mind and refocus. She was losing ground with her daydreaming. A groan escaped her lips as she desperately tried to wrench more energy from within.

Suddenly, she caught sight of the runner in front of her. The race was too long to see the finish line, but she knew that if she could just catch up to the runner ahead of her she’d be that much closer to it. Yes! The runner ahead would be her immediate goal. As her mind wrapped around this challenge, her body was instantly infused with new strength. Her pace quickened and gradually closed the gap between the two runners.

Exhilaration coursed through her whole being as she found herself running neck-and-neck with this faster runner. Her mind thrilled to the sound of their feet pounding the ground side by side in near unison, kicking up a veil of dirt behind them.

And then she saw the next runner ahead. She was getting closer to the finish line. It was time to move on from here and press harder still. She refocused her energies toward this new goal, summoning new reserves of power to get her there, one step closer to that finish line she so desired to cross a winner.

Pretty intense stuff, right?

I’m not a runner, and that’s exactly why. It’s too intense a sport for my body and my mind. It is a pretty dramatic illustration though of my walk as a Christian so far.

I see the finish line as being my completeness in Jesus - gaining Christ. That end seems so far away to me that it’s easier to measure the race by how far ahead I get, step-by-step and goal-by-goal. God leads me to new and deeper revelation in many ways, but mostly, He teaches me through other believers who have already received it. I learn by walking alongside an individual until the point is reached where I can learn no more, so I need to move on to someone else. I am never satisfied for long with the amount of revelation I have. My spirit is always wanting more.

I’m not talking about Christian-hopping until I find someone who comes into agreement with my way of thinking. I’m talking about Christian-hopping until I find someone who feeds my spirit with deeper truths and renewed faith. I’m talking about walking alongside solid Christians who take the Word of God as the Gospel Truth (pun intended) and strive to live it.

Along the way in my “race.” I’ve had to leave some good friends behind. It’s sad when you’re on the same spiritual page with someone for so long and suddenly you realize that they are rejecting the deeper stuff of Christ that you’re just eating up as if it was life itself. (Oh, wait… it is: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life [Jesus].” 1 John 1:1)

But what could I do? I had a lot of lies in my head telling me I should stick by my friends and be happy with what I already knew. I also had this sense of dread that if I didn’t press on I was going to miss out on something really good. It hurt that I couldn’t translate that same idea to my friends and encourage them to come with me, but I couldn’t stay. It would have been death to stay. A growing baby would die if you continued feeding it only milk. At some point, you have to introduce solid foods and some day steak!

So I have decided to set my sights on believers who have more revelation and more actual experiences with touching Jesus, ones who are seeking so hard to cross that finish line as complete in Christ as they can be that they can almost reach out and take hold of it now. They have a passion and a vision for the things of God. Here’s how Paul put it in Philippians 3:7-11:

“7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Like Paul, I am DESPERATE for the deeper things of Christ. The things around me that once were so valuable to me are no longer important. In fact, they are like rubbish if they are standing in the way of me getting closer to Jesus. I don’t view people as rubbish, but if someone I’m walking with is slowing me down or blocking my path, I need to cut them loose. I can’t stay with them. They are like a ball and chain weighing me down. All that can be done for a person who would rather hold you back than run forward with you is to pray for them, but by all means, move forward! Paul continues in Philippians 3:12-14:

“12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

It's a prize to gain Christ. That's what God is calling us to do and the very reason Jesus took hold of us to begin with. I want that prize!

I am fortunate to be running with a group of believers who are striving for the finish line with the same or greater passion and vision than I am. The more we ask God for deeper things, the more God is faithful to take one of us to a new level so the rest of us can follow. Sometimes God points out a runner outside our circle who is walking closer to Him so we can catch up to that person’s level of revelation.

The closer I get to the finish line, the more evidence I can see in me that I am closer to “gaining” Christ. I don’t look so much at the other runners for encouragement to keep going. I’ve found that I am letting God Himself energize and motivate me along the track. I just need to keep willing my flesh and soul (mind, emotions, and will) to keep moving forward, which actually is easy to do when you feed your spirit with food that is more nutritious than simple milk. The more you feed your spirit, the more your spirit wants to commune with God’s Spirit.

Being that it’s almost 4:00 am that I’m finishing this, I can only pray that it makes sense. Only God knows why I get insight to write at odd times and a compulsion to “do it now” in the wee hours of the morning. I hope it encourages you to seek out a runner ahead of you for your edification. Don’t worry about the friends you have to leave behind. God can take care of them where they are.

Just run your race to win!

His Marvelous Light

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:03:00 +0000

This entry is based on revelation received by me from the Lord during prayer on July 29, 2009.

My husband is a collector of flashlights. Every time he goes on a trip he comes home with a new one. Sometimes it’s the size or color that lures him – he prefers palm-sized and dark in color. Sometimes it’s the cool features – red beams or color lenses. But always he looks for a high intensity light. He’s looking for a light bright enough to see exceptionally well no matter how dark it is. He wants to find what he’s looking for and walk without fear of stumbling.

Jesus said that He is the light of the world.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

He also said that if we follow Him, we are the light of the world, and that we are to shine just like Him.

"You are the light of the world… In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14,16)

The light of Christ is brilliant and perfect. There is nothing we can do to make that light any brighter. It was given to us in full intensity for the purpose of never having to walk in darkness.

So why do our lives still seem so dark sometimes? Why do we seem to give off less light than the Scriptures say we can?

Here is what the Lord said to me last July during prayer:

“From darkness, even a dim bulb or candle flame seems to be a great light, so you may think you are good to be here, but I tell you My light is greater than what you see. To walk in My marvelous light, it is so bright you can see all things around you. There is nothing hidden in the shadows; all is exposed to my light. No lie escapes your view, no stonghold has a place to hide, no enemy lies in wait unseen to cause you harm. The intensity of My light is up to you.”

I asked Him how to increase the intensity of His light in me and he showed me John 1:1-5, which boils down to three points:

Jesus is the light
Jesus is the Word
The Word = light = life

Let me share two quick stories to begin illustrating this.

Twenty-some years ago, I had a Tupperware party at my house. It began in late afternoon and went into evening. After all the goofy games were done we sat down in my living room to look through our catalogs and write out our orders as the demonstrator talked about various products. By now, it was evening, but we really hadn’t noticed until the room suddenly became brighter and we could all see the booklets and order forms more clearly.

My father, who was the only man who stayed around during this “girl event,” was standing in the other room drinking coffee while watching us. From where he stood, he could see the difficulty we were having in the growing darkness, so he flipped on the light switch. We ladies thought we were just fine in the light we were already in, so we were amazed (as evidence by all the “ooh’s” and “aah’s”) when the light intensified.

Earlier this year I was washing my white teakettle, which get pretty spotty with grease and such if I forget to pay attention to it. When I felt it was thoroughly clean, I switched sinks to rinse it. As I moved the kettle, I found a grease spot that I couldn’t see before because the shadow of the faucet was enough to hide it from my view. The brighter light exposed it.

Before we give our lives to Christ, we are walking in complete darkness. We don’t know how dark it is until we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior and He puts His light into us. Suddenly our lives seem radiantly bright.

But the Lord is saying that there is more! He's saying that even though we are walking in light, there is still darkness around us. He has more light to give us for our life. It comes in the form of the revelation of His Word.

We get revelation in two parts:

First, we must read His Word – get it in our heads and hearts. God speaks to us with what we have put inside us. If we don’t have the Scriptures hidden in our hearts, He doesn’t have much to work with!

Then, we need to let Him speak to us about the Scriptures. We can read the whole Bible cover to cover many times over and get nothing or very little from it if we don’t give God some time to talk to us about it.

When we go to a Bible Study, it is expected that the leader will be teaching us a deeper meaning of what we read. God does the same thing. Ask Him to speak to you while you read and then listen along the way. It’s called meditating on the Word.

Here’s the trick though. It’s the part where nothing will remain hidden. It may sound great that being in a brighter light will expose your enemies, but it will also expose your sins. If we like the sin we’re in, perhaps that is why we don’t want any revelation of the Word and why our world seems so dark. Or maybe we’re comfortable in the light we’re in and don’t even realize it’s not as bright as we need it to be.

I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m tired of being smacked down by things I didn’t see coming and tripping over things I’ve kept hidden. Jesus doesn’t expose my stuff to the world, just to me, so I can let Him clean up my path. There’s only one way to do it – by the revelation of His Word to increase the intensity of His marvelous light in my life.

Care to join me in the light?

Water Cooler Logic

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:29:00 +0000

This is my home water cooler.

I like it a lot.

There are three different temperatures of water to be had, a small refrigerator section under the water dispensing area, and a cool blue light that comes on when the room is dark enough, so I can get my water at night without exposing my tired eyes to harsh white light.

We've had it in the house for about five years now, so I'm pretty familiar with its function… which is the reason why what I did this morning is so funny.

See how there are three buttons for water - hot (red), room temp (white), and cold (blue)? See how the dispensing spigot is right in the middle?

Well, I wanted some cold water this morning, so I grabbed a cup and put it on the shelf - under the cold-water button - and pushed.

It wasn't until my foot got wet that I actually looked at what I was doing. You see I've done it so many times its like second nature to me. There was no reason for me to think that I would make a mistake this time. I knew what I was doing.

So, what went wrong?

With my busy day ahead, I was not only multi-tasking things on my to-do list, but I was juggling a few things in my brain, as well. When your mind isn’t quite on what you’re doing, sometimes you end up with a wet foot.

Why is this important?

Because it illustrates how important it is for me to not depend on my own knowledge. No matter how much information I’ve been gifted with, there is always room for error. Details get mixed up, forgotten completely, or colored by my own personal biases. Mood, health, and busyness can all play a factor in how well that information is retrieved or applied.

What’s a girl to do?

Get out the instruction manual, of course!

When I flip to Proverbs chapter 3, I find this helpful information:

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

That seems pretty straightforward and, oddly enough, it works.

When I talk to God about the things I need to do, to remember, or to work through, the Holy Spirit always guides me in the best direction, brings to mind any forgotten thoughts, or helps determine if decisions I make are good or not so good.

Every day I am learning to rely more and more on the voice of God. I enjoy the ease of thinking with Him. Everyone knows two heads are better than one, and when one of them is omniscient (all knowing) how can you go wrong?

My goal is to work smarter, not harder. The longer I live, the more difficult I find it to process all the information that is gathering in my brain or to try to function without information I need.

Choosing to trust the Lord’s voice and not my own understanding of things – in all things – is definitely helping me to walk straighter paths. When I don’t, well… my feet get wet.

Avatar Review

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:45:00 +0000

My daughter and I went to see the movie Avatar in 3D tonight.

What an amazingly cool movie it is! It's science fiction colliding with a primitive culture to make a wonderfully creative and almost believable world.

I'll try to share without spoiling anything of the movie if you haven't seen it yet (and I highly recommend you see it in the theater before it's run is finished), but there is one aspect of the movie I want to discuss.

Let's see... what did I love about this movie:

The cinematography is stunning to say the least

The acting was over-the-top believable

The concept of transferring consciousness to another being was actually kind of cool to imagine (Not a spoiler - you can find out about this in the trailer.)

And I absolutely loved the spiritual connection of the Na'vi to their planet Pandora (Here's where the spoiler alert begins - if you don't want to know anything more about the movie until you see it, bookmark this page to read later and stop here.)

Some of my friends were concerned about the Na'vi worshipping the 'spirit' of a tree and the whole connection to nature with a Mother god, but I pulled out a few positive aspects for Christians to consider.

Above all, remember that this is a fictional story.

What they were worshipping was their source of life. As Christians, we do the same thing. On Pandora, life came from the planet to all living things with the central focus being on a tree. On Earth, life comes from a living, eternal God who shows Himself in nature, but the central focus is (or should be) on His Son Jesus Christ who died on a tree.

On Pandora, wherever the natives walk, light appears at their feet because of their connection to their source of life. On Earth, every believer was "once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord," and we should "walk as children of light." (Ephesians 5:8) The light of Christ should literally shine everywhere we place our feet because of our connection to Him.

The last thing I was impressed with was their great faith. No matter how bad things got for the Na'vi, none of them blamed their god or turned away from her. Instead, they ran to her for protection, guidance, and strength - all of the Na'vi as one body, not just some of them.

It takes real connection with Jesus Christ to have that kind of faith. You can be saved, but if you never get to know your Savior - to connect with Him - you won't be walking in light, you won't be a functioning part of the body, and you won't develop the faith to get through the tough times.

I'd like to encourage you to read your Bible daily and spend time in prayer with the Lord. Get to know Him and experience a greater connection with your Source of life.

And go see Avatar! (http://www.avatarmovie.com)

Satisfied

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:33:00 +0000

Today I'd like to tell you a story. It's called "Here Today, Hear Tomorrow." It's when something comes up one day and you hear from the Lord about it another day. Sometimes we actively pursue an answer from the Lord on a thing, but other times He just delivers without us having to do much work at all.

Here Today:

Last evening my Praying Wives Group was in discussion after the teaching. We're praying for a different aspect of our husbands' needs each week and one woman brought up the fact that each week's prayer seems to have elements that are in previous prayers. Specifically, she was reminded of prayer that our husbands would be satisfied with what the Lord gives them.

Many men (and women too) work and work and work for what they need or want, but God prefers they receive from Him and be satisfied with His goodness, so they don't have to work so hard. In other words, God wants us to let Him lavish good gifts on us rather than having us work ourselves silly to get them on our own. I'm not saying God doesn't want us to work! The Father does not want to raise spoiled children. He just delights in giving us things and they are always good.

We searched through the material from previous weeks and found references that were close to that, but for some reason never did find the place where the word "satisfied" was used, even though we all remembered hearing or reading it. After looking for awhile and talking about it some more, we moved on and finished up our session for the night.

Hear Tomorrow:

During worship at church today while I wasn't thinking of anything other than the usual - can my mic cord stretch just a little farther to give me some slack, do I have enough room so I don't hit the singer next to me with my tambourine, am I far enough forward so I don't back into the drums (stuff like that) - I began to focus more and more on the awesome God I was singing to.

When you actively focus on the Lord, you will hear His voice.

We began singing the song No Other by David Ruis and I was praising the Lord with every word:

   There is no other friend
   There is no other friend like You, oh Lord
   No other brother
   No other brother like You

   There is no other love
   There is no other love like You, oh Lord
   No other sweeter
   No other fountain but You

And there it was. In the very next line I heard it:

And how long until I'm satisfied?

Suddenly, the Lord began speaking to me while I continued singing the song:

I must have more of You

For I was born in Zion

Awakened love is crying out for You

It must be You

"Yes," He was saying, "it must be Me. It must be Me that you draw your satisfaction from. No human can offer what I can. Not your husband for you or you for your husband. Not your kids for you or you for your kids. Not your pastor for you or you for those you minister to. You can't get real satisfaction from your job, your home, your money, your ministries, or anything else. But you will find you are satisfied with all those people and in all those things if you draw your true satisfaction from Me"

Aha! Revelation! The more I sang, the closer I wanted to be to God. The lyrics completely expressed my hunger for more of what He desires to give every day:

And if I’m healed by

Just one touch

of your garment, Lord

Then how much more

of Your love is for me

than I’m tasting, Lord?

Draw me, take me and I will run

Over the mountains and down into the valleys

I will run with You

All, all my fountains are in You

I haven't quite figured out the fountain part yet. If it means that everything I need to pour out of me - my time, attention, love, energy, creativity, etc - is in the Lord, that's what I want. I want Him to be the source of everything I do.

All, all my fountains are in You

If it means that everything I draw upon to determine my self-worth is in the Lord, that's what I want. I want Him to establish my value.

All, all my fountains are in You

If it means that my refreshing is in the Lord, that's what I want. I want Him to wash over me with His cleansing and life-giving water.

All, all my fountains are in You

Lord, I pray today that I will be satisfied with You. Forgive me for counting on others to be my source of satisfaction and ignoring Your gifts to me. I want to dive in deeper each day to take hold of all You have to offer me. I can hardly believe there is more than what I've tasted so far, but I know there is and I want all that is mine through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for talking to me... I'm glad I listened. Amen.

Today I am satisfied.

(No Other - David Ruiz - http://www.worship.co.za/tfh/tfh-2912.asp)

Time for the Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Here’s an understatement I never caught before. The first verse of the first chapter in the Gospel According to Mark reads:

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Wow!

Imagine being in Mark’s place for a moment. Here’s a guy who spent time with Jesus, witnessed the miracles, experienced the powerful delivery of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and grew in his personal relationship with the God of the universe as he shared the gospel by divine power and inspiration to a multitude of people on many mission trips.

He completely understood who Jesus was: the eternal God – existing before time - born as a man, died on a cross, raised to life again by the Holy Spirit, and ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father to intercede for unrighteous man before a righteous and holy God, so that we would not perish in our sin, but have opportunity for eternal life with Him.

After thirty years of sharing his testimony about how Jesus transforms lives, some people in Rome said, “Hey, this is good news! Can you write it down so we can go over it when you’re not around?” (Or something along those lines.)

So Mark says, “Sure,” and sits down one day with feather and scroll (or whatever tools he would have used to write with back then) and suddenly it hits him – “Where do I begin?”

How do you begin to tell the story of Someone who has no beginning; who has always existed and always will? How do you write down enough to demonstrate to your readers that Jesus wasn’t just a great man, but the Great “I Am”?

I believe Mark wrote his Gospel the same way he lived his life – by the power of the Holy Spirit. God knew who Mark’s audience would be and prepared Mark specifically for this task throughout his life. All Mark needed to do was sit down with God and let God tell His own story through Mark’s hands.

The Gospel of Mark is the clearest, get-to-the-point Gospel of the four written because that’s how the Roman’s needed to hear it. I like hearing it this way too. God showed Mark the right point in time to begin his written testimony. It immediately captures your attention and doesn’t let go until the end.

Because of His great love for us, a timeless God came into time to carry out the greatest rescue in all of history, and then fit His story into our concept of time, so we could easily understand it.

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Does His beginning fit into your time schedule? He made time for you.

God bless!

Happy New Year 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

With every new year there is the hope that things will be better than the year before. We spend a great deal of time reflecting on the past year’s events and labeling them “good” or “bad” in light of how they affected us. From our list of “bad” things, we develop our list of “hopes”:

we hope the economy will improve
we hope there won’t be as much sickness or death in our families
we hope the storm seasons will be less harsh
we hope we will behave better in certain areas

Once we fill up our “hope list,” then what? Unless we plan to do something about each item, we blindly sit back hoping that "good things come to those who wait" (to coin a very grating cliché).

Still, even when we try to make our hopes come true, placing our hope in failed world systems, the nature of life and death, unpredictable weather patterns, or our own weak will-power tends to result only in broken New Year’s resolutions… just like last year… and all the years before. With each broken resolution comes a sense of disappointment, failure, or hopelessness.

I declare to you today that there is One in whom you can place your hope who will not disappoint, who cannot fail, and who is never the source of hopelessness – Jesus Christ!

He is not waiting for you only at the stroke of midnight on January 1^st of every year, but every second of every day all year long! You don’t have to wait for a new year to find new hope, you can find it anytime you’re ready to receive it.

Lamentations 3:22-23

²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Psalm 68:19

¹⁹ Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.

EVERY DAY – the Lord is compassionate toward YOU.

EVERY DAY – He has grace and mercy to offer YOU.

EVERY DAY – Jesus Christ, our Savior, is ready to bear YOUR burdens.

EVERY DAY.

1 Timothy 4:9-10

⁹This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance ¹⁰(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

My hope is in Jesus Christ because He succeeds where the world systems fail, He offers renewed health when sickness wants to cripple and life when death moves in too quickly, He can quiet the raging storms in life (personal and weather related), and His will is perfect where mine is not.

My hope is in Jesus Christ because He is a living God – a risen Savior – who rescues all who believe and call out to Him for help. He is not a dead or hidden God that is hard to find or hard to reach.

My hope for you is that, even if you are already a believer, you will put your trust in Jesus Christ THIS DAY because I know He is trustworthy and is all the hope you will ever need.

How do I know?

I was there when He rescued me and He hasn’t left me yet.

May your hope be in Christ in 2010!

Facebook Test

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:47:00 +0000

This is a test of the new Facebook Privacy Tool. I will be posting this blog to my Facebook wall and choosing one group of my friends that will not receive it. Please send me feedback comments to let me know if it worked.

In case you didn't know it, you can put your Facebook friends into groups. In this way, you can easily sort your friends list to find someone quicker, sort your news feed to read only the posts you want, and more easily select who can and can't see certain items on your profile. From your "All Friends" page, you can create your own groups to personalize your friends list. I love this option!

These are the groups I currently use:

Family - for those I am blessed to be related to (or have been in the past)

Church - for those who attend my church with me and are not related to me

High School - for those I went to high school with and am excited to be reconnecting with on Facebook

Marfan World - for those who mutually share this condition in their families

Friends - for those people I know who don't fit into any of the above categories

Random - for businesses or professionals that I am friends with, such as my cousin's photography business, KLOVE radio, my friend's greeting card business, and Safety Graphic Fun.

Game Friends - for those people I play games with, but don't know at all, and have restricted from seeing just about everything on my profile including my friends list and wall posts (so they won't see this at all)

So which group am I excluding from this test? None of the above! I created a new group that some of my family and friends will be in as well as their original group. Yes! Your friends can be in more than one group if you want them to be. How cool is that?

The new group is called Children and will "house" all of my family and friends who are in 10th grade and younger. Some of them may not appreciate being called children, but I can only give the group one name and it's for a specific purpose. If the Facebook Privacy Tool really works, they won't be reading this anyway (unless they subscribe to my blog, in which case I will appease them with a soda and candy bar of their choice).

Why am I telling you all of this? Because on occasion, I would like to post news articles to Facebook that I believe are very important to my adult and older teen friends. They are related to government policies or activist group events that could affect the quality of life for the very children on my friends list. I want their parents or people who care about them to know, but they don't need to be reading this stuff themselves.

Based on the nature of what I may post (nothing Jesus couldn't look at, I promise!), I will also be including on my Children's list any 11th or 12th grader that I'm not sure of how their parents would feel if they read some of the articles. After I send some articles, you can notify me if you think it would be ok for them to read what I send. You may also notify me to let me know if your 11th or 12th grader ISN'T on my list and you'd prefer they are so they DON'T get those particular posts.

If you see an article posted by me with a comment that says "Restricted", you'll know it's one that I have blocked from your children. In fact, that's why I wrote it on this post. Please check your children's Facebook accounts to be sure that they DID NOT receive this post. I want to be sure the Facebook Privacy Tool works before I send out anything they don't need to see.

My prayer is that, as adults, we will be wise in what is going on around us in our world and that we can protect the innocence of our children for as long as possible regardless of what the world thinks they should be exposed to.

Again, if you have children who are on my friends list, please let me know if they did or did not receive this post. If you don't know if your children are on my friends list, what an awesome opportunity to sit down and talk with them! If they press for "why are you checking", they only need to know if my test to block the boring grown-up stuff worked. :0)

God bless!

Where's Your Head At?

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:09:00 +0000

Just a simple question for the day.

Where's your head at?

Is it scheming ways to escape the chaos at home or the trouble on the job?

Is it cataloging a list of things that have broken recently like your washing machine, your car, or your kid's braces (for the third time)?

Is it dreaming up imaginary arguments with someone you have to confront or muddled in confusion over who to believe or what to do next with your life?

Is is sinking in sorrow over the loss of a loved one or a failed marriage?

Or is it seeking strength, gratitude, peace, direction, and comfort from the Lord?

Just a simple question for the day.

Is your head with God... or not?

Matthew 6:33

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (King James)

"Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (The Message)

Romans 12:2

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (King James)

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (The Message)

PHOTO CREDIT: "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin courtesy of Brian Hillegas

Killing with Kindness

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:56:00 +0000

Here's a great story about "killing with kindness." It's a MUST READ to make your day! I have a special fondness for it because it happens in an airport. :0)

http://budurl.com/cy7z

Where’s Your Focal Point?

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:35:00 +0000

The definition of “focal point” is “center of attention or interest.”

In the Lamaze method of childbirth, using a focal point is taught as a way to help the mother focus on something other than the contractions and the length of time she is laboring. Generally, it is suggested she use an object that also helps to stimulate positive feelings such as love, comfort, or joy.

When I gave birth to my third child, our son was apparently very eager to take part in his own delivery. I am positive that he continued to wriggle and kick right until I began pushing, which was very hard on my back. It gave new meaning to me of the term for the final phase before delivery: active labor.

His constant activity and the ache in my back became so overwhelming that I could not concentrate on anything else. My husband could see in my eyes that I was completely losing it. As he puts it, it looked to him as if my focal point was on the 7th floor of the hospital!

Gently, but firmly, he took hold of my face, looked directly into my eyes and said something to the effect of, “Look at me… look at me… you’re doing great… just breathe and keep looking at me.”

It took several seconds to process what he was saying to me and another several for my gaze to actually focus in on his eyes, but as soon as I was there… as soon as his eyes were my focal point… I regained as much composure as is possible while in labor and was able to concentrate on breathing, relaxing, and finally giving birth to our very healthy, over 10 pound son.

Looking into my husband’s eyes during that time of great stress was a tremendously empowering experience. He was able to impart into me what I didn’t have – courage, confidence, strength, security, love, faith… so many things! Nearly sixteen years later, I am still empowered by the memory of that one moment in time with him.

Since that day, we have made it a priority to become each others' focal point to strengthen our marriage relationship in both good times and stressful times. He imparts his strength, courage, and love to me, while I impart my love, respect, and confidence to him.

The Lord does the same thing for us. When we are coping with stressful things, He doesn’t want us in utter chaos, confusion, and worry over them, but rather a peace that brings strength to see us through those times.

The prophet Isaiah knew this when he declared to the Lord, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3)

Even Jesus Himself promised, "I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)

Having your thoughts fixed on Jesus allows Him to impart into you His peace no matter what you’re going through. He is never surprised or caught off-guard by anything that comes your way, so His peace is ever-present, always available. All you have to do is take your focus off the 7th floor where all your problems are and make Jesus your focal point – fix your thoughts on Him!

I will leave you with this thought from Philippians chapter 4 as my prayer for you today:

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

God bless!

All scripture references in this blog entry are from the New Living Translation.

Don't Miss Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:33:00 +0000

Here’s an interesting bit of scripture:

Isaiah 55:6 – "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near."

That implies a couple of things.

1. At some point, the Lord will no longer be found, and

2. At some point, He will not be near.

There are only two ways that those situations can happen.

1. You die, or

2. The Lord departs from you.

We’re all very well aware that death is, well… part of life. We all die at some point. No one has beaten the odds yet that I am aware of.

Dead people can’t seek things. Dead people can’t call out. Therefore, dead people can’t seek the Lord or call on Him. It’s too late!

Maybe you think you have time and you’ll be able to “catch” God just before you die. That’s like thinking you’ll be able to jump out of the car just before it careens off a cliff you never saw coming.

Proverbs 27:1 reminds us: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

The psalmist isn’t making an accusation; he’s stating a fact! You just can’t know the moment you will die and that’s a very risky gamble when your relationship with the God of the universe is at stake, don’t you think?

Now let’s say that you don’t die… because you haven’t. I can tell because you’re still reading this blog. If you haven’t died and left God, how do you know God hasn’t up and left you?

You can know this primarily because multiple times throughout Old Testament Scripture God has said he won’t and God does not contradict Himself, changing His mind willy-nilly like you and I.

In Deuteronomy 31:8, it is written, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Oh, but wait! In these Scriptures, He is speaking to those who are following Him faithfully. Whether it was the whole nation of Israel or one man on behalf of Israel, God has kept His promise to never leave or forsake them.

Jesus confirmed in the New Testament that God would still remain with faithful followers – both Jew and non-Jew alike – first by His choice to live among them as a man (Jesus Christ), then by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-5, Acts 2:1-4), and soon by His return to gather the faithful and return with them to Heaven.

John 14:1-3 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

To faithfully follow Him is to obey His commands and love Him above all else. So, while it is very true that God will never leave His faithful followers, this promise does not extend to those who have never placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior because rejecting God’s Son is rejecting God.

Acts 4:10-12 ‘“…then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."’

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

So what about those who aren’t faithfully following God?

Once Christ returns for the faithful followers, it’s all over. The Age of Grace is over and Judgment happens.

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

There is no “second chance” and there will certainly be no time to change your heart once you hear the sound of the trumpet and see Christ coming down from the clouds.

Jesus even told his faithful followers that we would not know exactly when He would return.

Acts 1:6-8 – So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

But Jesus also says to all mankind, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.” (John 6:47)

Get out your Bible today and read any one of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John – and see for yourself where you stand with the Lord. Ask God if you are a faithful follower or not. Ask God to tell you why you even need to be. Ask God to change your heart today if you need to.

He will answer.

Don’t miss out!

Get Out Of The Mud!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:30:00 +0000

Although it’s a bit early for a season change, we’ve had some warm days, and at least one sign of Spring has become evident – mud!

Every year I go through the same ritual with one or more of my kids. The frosty white snow has melted away leaving a swath of brown squishiness the entire length of our driveway, yet they never seem to notice (or care about) this. They still walk (or run) across the lawn to the van and I find myself shouting, “Get out of the mud!”

On at least one occasion, I’ve been a fraction of a second too late and the child who didn’t notice the new, soft ground condition has had to get up and go change clothes after sliding several feet and losing the battle with gravity.

As a child, I happily played with mud for hours, making pies and planting seeds in old discarded dishes and cracked flowerpots. As an adult, I can appreciate the effort it takes to clean up the mess of that play!

Even if you don’t slip and fall in it, whatever mud has collected on your shoes is deposited step-by-step everywhere you go. No matter how hard you try, you’re going to get things dirty until you clean the mud off your shoes.

Mud is also difficult to walk in. The deeper the mud is, the greater the suction that is produced which tugs at your foot as you slog through it. If it’s deep enough, you might lose a shoe to its mucky pull. If it’s very deep, you may end up stuck completely and need help getting out.

And, as previously mentioned, mud can cause you to lose your footing and fall.

Rather than deal with the messiness and potential embarrassment that mud is capable of, I choose to avoid it if possible. For many situations, there is a very clear choice: walk in the mud or don’t walk in the mud.

But sometimes we find ourselves in mud through no fault of our own and we have no choice but to walk through it in order to get out. And then there are times when we just can’t resist and we choose to walk in the mud despite the consequences.

Well, guess what? Troubles and sin are a lot like mud.

The prophet Jeremiah was not a very popular guy when he told the people of Jerusalem that the Lord said they needed to surrender to the Babylonian army rather than fight. Some of the officials took him and put him in a cistern, which was used to collect water from a spring or from rain.

Jeremiah 38:6
So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

Jeremiah was in mud through no fault of his own; mud deep enough to sink in. He was in a little bit of trouble there!

Our troubles won’t necessarily involve literal mud, but we can feel like we’re sinking under a financial burden, a family problem, an employment crisis, or some other situation we have no control over.

We don’t choose to be in those situations, but everyone has to walk through some trouble in life. We can’t go around it and it won’t go away. We just have to go through it. If the trouble is too great though, we may need to call someone for help.

God is always ready to be that help.

Psalm 40 is referred to as A Praise for Deliverance. Here is what David writes:

Psalms 40:1-2
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

But, what about our problem with sin? Unfortunately, most of us continue to struggle with temptations and make bad choices regarding them. We still play in the mud, knowing very well that we’ll get dirty.

2 Peter 2:22
Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

Is God ready to help us get out of that mess too? Absolutely! As soon as we cry out to Him and let Him know we want to get out of the mud, He reaches down to lift us up. David was confident of this, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked.

Psalm 40:7-8,11-13
7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll. 8 I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." 11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me. 12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. 13 Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me.

Don’t wait another day!

If you feel like your troubles have you sinking or your sins are pulling you down into the muck, make a new choice today. Turn to the Lord, cry out to Him, and…

Get out of the mud!

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL SCRIPTURE FOR THIS ENTRY IS FROM THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION OF THE BIBLE.

Friday the 13th

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Hey, it’s one of my favorite days of the year!

I love Friday the 13th because it reminds me that I am no longer trapped in the superstitious thinking of the world.

Dictionary.com defines superstition as “a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like," or "any blindly accepted belief or notion".

For instance, you may believe you’ll have bad luck if you walk under a ladder or if a black cat crosses your path. I grew up believing that bad things happen on Friday the 13th if you weren’t careful. My belief wasn’t based on reason or knowledge; it was based on the fear of “what if?”

Today I tried to find the origin of the ominous cloud hanging over Friday the 13th and found that no one really knows how it started, although many speculate that it has to with the Crucifixion of Christ on a Friday and the fact that there were 13 seated at the Last Supper and the first one to leave, the traitor Judas Iscariot, was dead shortly afterward. (You can read about that here: http://www.snopes.com/luck/friday13.asp)

You may be surprised to hear me say, “I’m not surprised!”

If there is one thing I’ve learned since becoming a Christian, it’s that the devil takes great pleasure in perverting the things of God.

The Apostle Paul urges us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11) Other Bible versions use the word ‘schemes’ for ‘wiles’.

Some of his schemes include distorting the Gospel so even men will do his dirty work.

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

So it doesn’t surprise me that the devil would try to distract us from God’s love and power with silly fears of bad luck happening on Friday the 13th that may be based on some of the very events of Christ’s life that show us God’s love and power.

Satan wants us to think that a certain day and date (or rabbit’s foot, or broken mirror, or salt thrown over your shoulder) has more power than the almighty God of the universe. If we blindly accept these superstitious notions held by the world, we are allowing Satan to blind us from the truth of the Gospel and the love and power of God therein.

The good news for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ is that, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) God in us is greater than Satan and all those who follow that devil in the world!

We don’t have to be afraid of a date on the calendar because “God has not given us a spirit of fear (timidity, fearfulness, cowardice), but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7, words in parenthesis mine)

Rather, we can confidently proclaim as the psalmist did, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Happy Friday the 13th!

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL SCRIPUTRE USED TODAY IS FROM THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE.

Happy Birthday Darwin!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:51:00 +0000

Happy 200th Birthday to Charles Darwin, father of the theory of Evolution, which, when studied objectively, causes the truth of Creation to be self-evident.

Thank you, Mr. Darwin!

http://www.pulltheplugonatheism.com/

Coming and Going

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:26:00 +0000

Due to some changes in the lives of some family members, I’ve recently found myself in a new job. Chauffeur. This actually isn’t a foreign job to me – I am a mom after all, but I’ve never had to perform this task with such frequency in one day for so many days.

With one son in a cast (too young to drive anyway) and my college daughter in field training for Early Childhood Education (with no vehicle of her own), I’ve had no choice but to put on the driver’s cap and buckle up.

Here’s my schedule 3-4 times a week:

7:30 am - take boys to middle/high school
8:20 am - take daughter to pre-school
11:15 am - pick up daughter from pre-school
12:20 pm - take daughter back to pre-school
2:30 pm - pick up boys from middle/high school
3:30 pm - pick up daughter from pre-school
3:50 pm - take daughter to work
5:45 pm - meet husband at daughter’s work to leave daughter a car so I don’t have to pick her up again!

Whew! That comes to a grand total of EIGHT short trips in just over ten hours, not counting my own errands. I truly thank God for my cell phone. I have to set the alarm on it after each drop-off so I won’t forget the next pick-up!

The surest way to tell if I’m coming or going is by who is in the vehicle with me. If someone is with me, I’m going to drop whoever it is off somewhere. If I’m alone, I’m probably coming home. Still, all this running around can get confusing sometimes!

But God is not confused and He always knows where to find me. I don’t have to worry about Him losing track of me or needing to set an alarm to pick me up from somewhere.

Psalms 139:7-16
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

God knows exactly where I am - in my van and in my life - and I am confident that if He knows where I am, it’s because He is watching over me.

Are you feeling like your life is so chaotic (physically, spiritually or emotionally) that God can’t keep up with you? Just remember what the psalmist wrote: there is no place that God isn’t! Meet with Him today where you are, whether you're coming or going.

Where We Live

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:59:00 +0000

Most of us have an idea of where we want to be in life – what we want to be doing, who we want to be doing it with, etc. We have dreams and passions that want to carry us new heights. While many achieve their goals, some of us seem stuck where we are, unable to get ahead no matter what we do.

Why is this?

One reason is addressed by Paul in Philippians 3:12-14. In the New American Standard, it reads:

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul is saying that he intends to keep moving forward in his Christian walk to fully embrace the heavenward call of God. It's his ultimate goal. To reach this goal he must “press on” – keep going, stay in the game, don’t quit. He uses the words “forward” and “toward” to describe his destination – it’s still ahead of him here, as it is with all living Christians today.

Like a runner in a race, we can get tired along life’s journey and want to stop and rest. And that’s ok. Jesus told us we have to rest sometimes. But if we quit, we’re out of the race and will never reach our goal.

The “race” itself is tiring, but there is something in our lives that can make reaching our goals even more tiring, if not impossible.

Imagine this: You’re running your race. You can see the finish line and excitement wells up in you, urging you on toward the end of your run. But you’re so tired you can hardly run another step and, in fact, don’t seem to be getting any closer. You’re not sure why because you’ve trained hard for this race and you should be able to do this, but it seems so difficult now.

You look behind you and are surprised to see that your leg is tethered by a bungee cord to that of a huge elephant. No wonder you're tired! No matter how fast you run, the cord only gives enough to let you get close to the finish line, but not all the way. It is then that you realize you’ve been running in place, getting nowhere.

This is what our past can do to us. Paul knew this very well. It was Paul (then Saul) who held the coats of those who stoned Stephen to death. What a shameful thing for him to have to live with! How could Paul now serve Christ effectively in ministry when he had taken part in the killing of those who believed in Christ before he did?

By “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.” (v. 13)

Paul knew that if he dwelt on his past, he would be forever stuck where he was and not move forward to where God wanted him to be.

He chose to trust in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ for what he had done and move on. We also know that Paul had to trust Jesus for things that others had done to him in the past (read his ministry accounts). Paul had to forgive them and leave the situations in Jesus’ hands, allowing Jesus to provide healing for him while he continued forward in his Christian growth and ministry.

Paul not only chose to go forward rather than dwell in his past, he also chose to not try and do both!

A note in my Bible for this verse reads, “We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be.”

Tension is the act of stretching or straining. When I read this, the following image came into my mind.

Like a big old elephant, our past weighs heavily on us, holding us back. But our goals and dreams want to lift us higher, soaring like an eagle. Living in the middle causes tension. We are attached by cords between the two, unable to follow the pull of our future due to the tug of our past.

Now, there are three things you can do.

You can keep living with the tension of holding on to your past while trying to hold onto your future and see how far you get.

Or you can experience a little physics.

An interesting thing about tension is that when an object is connected between two bungee cords and the force from one bungee cord is released, the tension is gone, and whatever is attached to the other cord will be launched in the direction of that cord’s source.

So, choice two is that you can let go of your dreams and passions and be launched back into your past, spending your life wallowing in self-pity over things you’ve done and things that were done to you, never reaching your goal.

Or, you can do as Paul did. Forget your past – let it go – and be launched headlong into your future.

If you opt for the third choice, the momentum of letting go will get you moving in the right direction, but you’ll still have to keep reaching forward.

Paul’s description isn’t one of an easy journey, just a rewarding one. There will be new things coming at you plus the temptation to grab hold of that cord to the past, but if you resist and keep pressing on, you’ll reach your goal… no matter what it is.

Dare to Poke God

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:47:00 +0000

My husband, Jeff, and I spent a few days last week in the hospital with our 13-year-old son, Ryan, who had reconstructive surgery done on his left foot. Per hospital policy, one parent was allowed to spend the night in the room with their child. Jeff spent the first night and I took the second.

When I arrived back at the hospital after Jeff’s night with Ryan, I asked Jeff how he’d slept. “Not well,” was his answer. Smiling, he continued, “It seemed like every time I dozed off, Ryan reached over and poked me to wake me up because he needed something.”

Later, after Jeff went back to the room we were staying in to catch a nap, I commented to Ryan, “I hear Dad didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

Apologetically, he said, “Yeah, that would be my fault. I kept waking him up.”

I looked him right in the eye and said very deliberately, “That’s okay. That’s what we’re here for.” Comforted by that fact, he soon drifted off for a nap as well.

As I sat there pondering our conversation, I couldn’t help but thank the Lord for being the kind of God we can poke whenever we need something. Anything! Any time!

Sometimes we act as though it is a great bother to ask the Lord for the things we need even when we know there is no way we can get them on our own.

But Jesus tells us this in Matthew 7:7-11:

7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Do you see that?

Ask.

Ask.

Ask!

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all record that Jesus told his disciples to ask on multiple occasions. It seems as if He didn’t get his point across to everyone though, because there is still teaching on this subject in several other books of the New Testament as well. Ephesians, James, and 1 John all implore disciples to simply ask of the Father for anything they need.

Perhaps we feel our needs aren’t important enough to bother God with them, or that we don’t deserve them even if we need them. We need to know that God doesn’t think that way! He has done everything He can to deliberately say to us, “That’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.”

Take comfort in that fact and rest in it. Dare to poke God today and ask Him for the things you need right now!

Welcoming Home My Husband

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Waiting for the plane to land.
Taken from news video link found on this page:
http://www.wtvh.com/news/local/26322739.html

After a 5-hour delay, the plan finally arrives.

About an hour after he got off the plane, he was finally done
with processing and able to reunite with us.

He's amazed at how tall the boys have gotten in such a short time.

Not letting go!

Thanks from all of us to those who prayed for us during this trip!

Where's The Rest Of Romans???

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

If you're wondering when I'm going to get to the rest of Romans, the answer is pretty close to, "Not any time soon."

Life ~ such as it is ~ has become a bit more complicated than when I first set out on that little venture. The Bible study is still happening, but time has eluded me. I haven't even found enough hours in any given day to write out all of the randomness in my head.

So, until I am able to change my schedule or something lets up, Romans is on hold. Hopefully, I'll get to do some other writing, but time will tell.

God bless!

Praise in the Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:08:00 +0000

Yesterday we had powerful thunderstorms sweep through our area (it was a huge band spanning several counties) that did quite a bit of damage. High winds came in fast and furious along with rain and hail in some places, but it was the wind that caused the damage.

Trailers overturned, trees uprooted and snapped in half, and power lines were knocked down all over the place. A section of our main highway was closed for most of the day because of power lines across all lanes. Several people reported seeing funnel clouds, but the weather service has not confirmed any tornadoes.

I've only heard of one death due to the storm where a logger in an adjacent county was pinned between his truck and a tree that a gust of wind knocked over. Emergency crews could not get to him quickly because of the power lines and trees down in the roads. He died at the hospital later on. Our prayers are with his family, co-workers, and friends.

Below are some pictures I took this morning, mostly for the benefit of my congregation.

* * * * * * * * * *

All of the white pieces lying on the ground used to be our church sign.

Here is one section of the sign and one of four bulbs from the corner lights.

You can see two more bulbs here... one in the foreground, facing us, and one under the end of the white beam that is lying on the ground pulled away from the bottom of the sign. See it? It's under the end that's in the cross shadow. We are assuming the fourth bulb is under the sign or blown farther away than we looked for it.

This leg snapped right at the ground line.

This leg snapped a little higher than ground line. Along this side of the sign is the metal conduit with the electric lines in it that run underground. Had we still had the lines above ground, they could have been ripped out of the wall. Actually, as I look at this picture, I'm thinking that the conduit is probably what kept the sign from being blown any farther than down! That's all it's connected to.

Work crews lining the road for tree removal and line repair.
This is the scene just north of the church.

National Grid is on the job.

Remnants of a felled tree stacked in the yard of a friend's house.

I believe this could be the tree those logs came from. It's across the street from my friend's house. You can see branches still on the ground behind the standing tree and a broken branch down behind the boat.

There is a little glare from the windshield in this one (I'm a writer, not a photographer), but you can still see the tipped poles and downed electric lines, some sections with branches still on them. This is on the same street just past and across from my friend's house.

You can find other, more amazing pictures here.

* * * * * * * * * *

This is just a small glimpse of what a lot of the town my church is in looks like, which is why they have declared a state of emergency there. They have no power, which means no traffic lights, and have many trees and power lines to repair. Rumor has it that it will be a couple of days before power is completely restored.

And yet, despite the destruction, I am hearing many stories of God's blessings and provision.

One woman in an area lost her private utility pole. Until she could replace it, they could not hook up power and she didn't know what to do. God's provision was right in her own yard! She had a junk vehicle that she was able to sell and get the money for the new pole. It is being installed today and she could have power as soon as tonight.

Praise the Lord!

A couple from our church had a large tree fall in their yard - completely missing their storage shed. They also had glass windows blown out in their garage, yet not a single pane was chipped! I can picture angels lined up inside the garage waiting to catch them and then setting them down gently on the floor for them to re-install when the husband came home from work!

Praise the Lord!

I heard a story of a Curves member in her sixties who ran home from her neighbor’s house next door to clean things off her porch so they wouldn’t blow away, only to be almost blown away herself! She is legally blind, but could hear a roaring wind coming up the street, so she wrapped her arms tightly around a nearby post. As the strong wind rushed past her house, she turned her head to see the outline of a funnel barreling down the street. Her feet were lifted off the ground, but her grip proved strong and she was fine. I already know how God has provided for her financially to exercise at Curves for strength training and I believe He also put her in place at that porch post.

Praise the Lord!

I'm looking forward to hearing more praises despite damages, too. No matter how great our losses, God still provides!

All of this reminds me of a song by Casting Crowns – Praise You In This Storm. The chorus goes like this:

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

Take a listen here when you can. God bless!

I Flubbed My American Idol Audition!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Just kidding!

But it sure felt like that.

By God’s grace, Gabe – our Worship Team lead guitar player and recording genius – isn’t Simon Cowell.

At worship practice on Tuesday, we were recording vocal tracks to a song for a project we are working on. The guitars were already recorded and both the lead singer and soprano had already recorded their tracks when it was my turn, so I had the benefit of almost a full band, minus the drums, to pull me through.

I put on the headphones and got used to how loud everything was going to sound in my ears (sort of) and then started a run-through without recording. I opened my mouth to sing and that’s when it all fell apart.

For the life of me, I could not find the notes!

Grant it, this is a fairly new song for us, but it’s not one that I struggle with when we play it during worship services. For some reason, I was just not able to figure out my place in the verses even after I got the chorus going.

Patiently, Gabe replayed a verse over and over… and over for me, but after about eight or seventeen tries (I lost count), he finally decided to cut me a CD of the tracks to take home and practice with so I can try again next week.

I don’t know if it was a memory problem, a case of the jitters (standing there in front of a professional recording microphone with someone really listening to me sing), or the fact that I’d eaten before practice (I don’t have great control on a full stomach), but I just couldn’t accomplish the task.

Whatever the problem was, I know for a fact that Satan tried to use it for his own evil purposes. How do I know? Because of the lies that started rushing into my head:

“This isn’t going to work.”

“You can’t sing anyway, why bother?”

“You’re wasting everyone’s time.”

Ouch!

Today I’d like to publicly address those lies to Satan himself.

Devil, it is written: “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This will work and be for good because I love God and am called according to His purpose to be on the worship team!

Devil, it is written: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” (Philippians 4:13) Besides, I’d rather listen to the voice of God and the many voices of my friends over your one puny voice. I don’t have to be perfect, just obedient with what I have.

Devil, it is written: “That which we have seen and heard we declare to [all], that [they] also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3 – word changes mine) Every member of the worship team has a passion to testify of Jesus Christ through the ministry of music. We are a worship team and no one’s time is wasted because the gospel of Christ “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes!” (Romans 1:16) Again… it is written!

Whew! I feel much better now.

And for the record... I popped that CD into my player on the way home from worship practice and sung it pitch perfect first time through. ;0)

Romans - Chapter 1:1-17

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy:D) — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:33:00 +0000

The first half of Romans Chapter 1 is the apostle Paul’s introduction of himself to the Christians in Rome.

Paul really knew how to write! Or he really knew how to be Spirit-led in his writing. He so clearly represents Jesus and presents the gospel in this epistle (letter) that many scholars have called Romans the greatest epistle of them all.

Right away in verse 1, we see that Paul pulls no punches and gets right to the point in just a few words. Paraphrased: “Hi, I’m Paul. I’m a bond-servant of Christ and God set me apart as an apostle to preach the gospel.” Boom!

His humble reference to himself as a “bond-servant” was in clear contrast to the Jewish religious leaders’ title of Rabbi, which means, “my master.” Both Jewish and Gentile Christians of that day would understand that Paul’s position was to serve them on Christ’s behalf rather than lord over them.

Citing his apostleship meant that Paul claimed he was not called by any man to preach the Gospel, but by Christ Himself. Luke supported this claim by recording Paul’s Damascus Road encounter three times in the book of Acts. (9:3-5; 22:6-8; 26:12-18)

(Interesting reading on apostles if you have the time: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Dictionaries/BakersEvangelicalDictionary/bed.cgi)

In verses 2-4, Paul declares his knowledge of prophecy and Scripture, which influenced the Jews, and verses 5-6 affirm the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s plan. Verse 7 unites both groups under the same pronouncement of God’s love. Talk about knowing and appealing to your audience!

This is followed up by a wonderful word of encouragement for these believers (vv. 8-10) – Paul, an apostle of Christ, praises them for their faith! Remember, Paul had not yet been to Rome to see them. He’d heard about them because their faith was being “proclaimed throughout the whole world.”

I don’t know about you, but people can tell me all day long that I’m doing a good job at something and I just take it with grace, offering a sincere thank you for their praise. However, it makes a big impact on me when a leader in my life tells me I’m doing a good job at something. Suddenly, I realize that important people are noticing what I’m doing and I’m SO glad that it’s not for the wrong reasons!

Paul didn’t keep the news about their faith to himself either; he told others as he went about preaching the gospel. He was proud of them, he thanked God for them, and he prayed for them. He also prayed that he could meet these faithful believers face to face.

His desire to share with them a “spiritual gift” that would help “establish” them is found in verse 11. When a preacher ministers the gospel, God imparts gifts to those who receive the message. Whether it is hope or healing, knowledge or salvation, grace, peace, or comfort, God wants to share His gifts and Paul was eager to bring to the Roman Christians whatever the Lord would share with them through him.

He knew that a spiritual gift from the Lord would help make them even stronger and more stable in their faith, establishing more firmly in their hearts their belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul also knew that being together with them would encourage his faith as well (verse 12).

It seemed important to Paul to let the believers in Rome know that he’d been thinking about them for some time (verse 13) and, had there not been other things to prevent him, he would already have come. He looked forward to ministering there so he could “obtain fruit” among them, possibly salvation of souls, encouragement of believers, and other “fruits” that come of laboring for the harvest. While he loved his fellow Jewish-Christians, his mission was to the Gentiles.

Verse 14 distinguishes “types” of Gentiles that Paul was obligated to preach the gospel to, so that none would think themselves above the others, nor beneath the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

According to John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, either the Greeks (who were Gentiles) called all others not of their nation Barbarians, or Greeks represented the more cultivated nations of the world while Barbarians were the ruder, more uncivilized parts. Either way, Paul knew to make reference to both groups. He also was clear that he preached to both the educated (wise) and the uneducated (foolish). The gospel is for everyone.

So far, Paul has summed up his credentials, his audience, and his purpose, all of which compel him to be “eager” to preach to the Christians in Rome (verse 15). He knew that God had called him, he had a passion for those God told him to preach and minister to, and he was confident in the gospel he had to share. Paul was “good to go” as soon as he could get to Rome!

Many people today wish they could have the faith to preach (evangelize) like Paul did. What was his secret? Why was he so bold? Did God give him an extra portion of the Holy Spirit or did it have to do with the fact that Jesus appeared to him on the Damascus Road? Surely, we’d have more faith had we been knocked off our high horse and blinded for three days!

If it had anything to do with the latter, how do you explain the lack of faith in some who actually walked with Jesus and saw Him perform miracles? Throughout history, man has denied Jesus Christ even when they come face to face with Him.

I am convinced that it had to do with the fact that Paul actually listened to what Jesus told him and then had a conversation with Him. Paul developed a relationship with Jesus right from the beginning that he never let go of!

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul walked and talked with Jesus every day. It was this experience of a personal relationship with Christ that led Paul to boldly declare, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘but the righteous man shall live by faith.’” (Verses 16-17)

We can all have that!

Every man, woman, and child on the planet is invited to experience the power of salvation – “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21 – italics mine)

God does reveal His righteousness – “The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.” (Psalm 98:2)

The longer we spend time with Jesus the more we experience with Him so our faith grows. He shares more and more over time taking our faith from one level to another with each revelation of His righteousness.

Paul spent time with Jesus. It’s that simple. His faith was great because his relationship with Jesus was great. It was important to him and he worked to maintain it. Knowing Jesus so well is why he was eager to go wherever and to whomever the Lord asked him to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Oh, that I should desire to know the Lord so well, that none who cross my path should pass without a seed being planted!