Pushing God Out

Is what we are living for worth Christ dying for?  Think about that. Take it in. 

What is it, exactly, that you live for? 

What is of utmost importance in defining your life? Shopping? Spending your salary, or your spouses salary, acquiring things that only satisfy momentarily? 

Sports maybe? Spending the families money on seasonal sporting events or expensive sporting equipment? Boats, jet skis, four wheelers, guns, fishing gear, paddle boards, dive gear? 

Or maybe it's vehicles. You blow much of your income on an overpriced car to fit in, look good, feel good. 

Or maybe it's your kids. You spend every dime making sure your kids have the best. No, the very best. To ensure they are better. To make sure their education, clothes, transportation, and activities trump all.

None of these things are bad things. Life is meant to be enjoyable. However if your life is being lived to acquire things? Well, it may be time to re-evaluate. 

David tells us in Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him". All of us, at one time or another, have patted ourselves on the back "I did this" or "I created this". "I made this happen. Me." 

It is because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ that we have earthly gifts. His blood provides our talents. His blood washes our filth clean so that we are able to prosper. 

The moment, however, that we forget whose we are? Who has us? Who was flogged, pierced, crucified? Bones crushed as nails were driven through His flesh? As Believers when we live for us? "I am so talented look at my accomplishments!" We make a mockery of the cross. We trump the Gospel. 

If we provide the greatness in our lives by our own hands then we push God out. We don't need him any longer. We are saying to the world "I am as capable as God is". More specifically "I am God. I can do all things through me".

Is what you are living for worth Christ having died for it? Did you put Him to death to fulfill your emptiness with material insignificance? Or does His death fill the hole in your soul that allows you to live for Him?

"But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand"-Matthew 7:24

Dog Conversations

Do you ever get in a slump? I usually don't for more than several hours. And it's seldom. But for the past week? Man, oh man, I haven't been very enjoyable to be around. Selfishness is all it really is.

I had all these grandiose plans of staying at the beach most of the summer. Primarily because I did it the past two summers with my daughters. Two of the best summers of my life.

This summer? Well, schedules haven't been conducive  of everyone in our family. Life has been hectic. We can't manage to get everyone together at one time in one place. It's called life. Instead of being a grown up I've been pouting like a toddler. Probably have even stuck my lip out a time or two.

Last Wednesday as I was leaving a planning committee meeting I was feeling beyond sorry for myself. Listening to all the exciting plans people had for the summer. Heck, all I wanted to do was feel saltwater on my body. Can't even get away for 24 hours. I was in a ridiculous hot mess. I was even sick of my own company.

Then that tiny little voice in my head {Holy Spirit} whispered "you are always where you are suppose to be". Ha! Try telling that to my two year old attitude, Lord. "I am telling you. I need you to be still. Pay attention. Step back". And then I came to the realization that life is moving at warped speed! Have you noticed it too?

So this past weekend  I tried to be present. I visited with my neighbors. Walked the dogs. Started going through my mother and grandmother's recipes. I cooked and baked legacy recipes. Went to the farm to watch the sunset. I spent the past few days listening, observing, and praying. I watched very little news and very little national TV. I blared praise and worship music in the car and in my kitchen. I had deep conversations with the dog. I highly recommend that by the way. No matter what you say to a dog they are just thrilled to be in your company.

Amazingly by Sunday night I was appreciative. Yes, Lord, filled with peace. Every season in our life is for a reason. We don't usually recognize it at the time. Looking back, however, it is so easy to identify what God was protecting us from or teaching us. Every door closed leads to another opportunity He has hand picked for us.

This summer season I'm just going to try to enjoy each day. Be aware that He's in charge of us all. We can make our plans but He's the ultimate scheduler.

"Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble."-Proverbs 13:20

Silence Is A Lost Luxury

Admittedly my phone is essentially an appendage. If we are being honest I guess you could say that makes me a hypocrite. Nothing bothers me more than people who don't use phone etiquette. Case in point my kids and my better half. 

Yesterday my daughter and I were driving out of town. We were carrying on, what I thought to be, a lovely conversation. Until I realized she wasn't smiling at me but rather at the texts that were popping up on her phone. I expressed how rude I think she and her generation are. What did she do? Held eye contact with me, to make me think she was engaged, all the while those fingers were carrying on a text conversation with someone else. 

I proceeded to tell my daughter that our next family gathering would be phone free. I would be the obnoxious parent who takes away all of the phones. "We are going to enjoy a phone free zone". "Oh, pahleeze Mama" was the smiling response I received fingers still blindly text typing. 

Hmmm, I will show them. I've already designed (in my mind) the basket thingy in which I will collect and place all devices. I will force my family to converse. Hold their phones hostage.  Yes. Yes, I will by God. And they will love it. Because I tell them they do. Yep, the ole dog can still bark.

Do you ever catch yourself praying and the next thing you know you are making a grocery list in your mind? Or you get up early to read scripture and realize you have no idea what you've just read? As an added bonus you've gone over everything on your to do list for that day? Heck, for the whole week for that matter.

Our minds are on such overdrive we don't even know how to quiet them. Silence is a lost luxury. I'd be willing to bet that most children don't even know how to day dream. The good stuff. Like in elementary school, in early Spring, when your teacher was explaining a lesson. You glanced out the window. Innocently watching the kids playing during recess. Your mind wandered to extraordinary super hero sized adventures. The next thing you knew the bell was ringing. Nope. Guarantee day dreams are no longer a thing. Kids are scheming and dreaming of ways to get back on their phones.

Don't be fooled for one second. The enemy is masterful. He has an entire world believing the lie that we must be busy. We must be engaged in something all of the time. If you are not busy you are not important. If you are not making lists, making plans, making meals, making meetings, making money you are making nothing of your life. And we believe him! 

If satan can keep us busy? Well, he can keep us from seeing the real splendor of our daily lives. If we put our phones down we will notice the beautiful blue sky. The love between the elderly couple holding hands walking through the grocery store parking lot. The baby rabbits eating grass in our backyards. The birds nest in our ferns on our front porch. The lightening bugs in our neighborhood. The really mundane extraordinarily beautiful gifts we overlook every single day. We miss these things when we are checked out of life and plugged into the busyness. 

If we started looking up more frequently we would be in awe of who God is. If we were in awe of who God is we wouldn't be so in awe of the mindless activities that clutter our lives. 

This weekend put your phone on silent. Walk outside. Listen to the leaves rustling in the breeze. Watch the sunset. Gaze up at the stars. Call the enemy what he is: a big fat liar. A thief stealing our time, talent, and attention. Kick him to the curb. 

Spend some time with the One who created it all for you. Enjoy His magnificence. Thank God for the gift of His time. Ask Him to help you make time to be plugged into Him.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."-Phillipians 4:6

Show Me Your Glory

I caught a glimpse of Your splendor In the corner of my eye

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen

And it was like a flash of lightening Reflected off the sky

I know I'll never be the same

Show me Your glory

Send down Your presence

I want to see Your face

Show me Your glory 

Majesty shines about You

I can't go on without You

When I climb down the mountain and get back to my life

I won't settle for ordinary things

I'm going to follow you forever

And for all of my days '

I won't rest until I see You again

Show me Your glory

Show me Your glory

I can't live without You, Lord

As I pulled into our neighborhood one of my favorite songs came on the radio. "Show me your glory" by Third Day. The song sends goosebumps down my spine every time I hear it. Now more than any other time in history, I believe, the Lord is showing us His glory. 

Unless you are living under a rock you can't ignore the birth pangs that are increasing with intensity every single day. Just this past weekend I read there were over 55 earthquakes felt throughout the United States. The quakes and tremors are so frequent now that the mainstream media doesn't even report them. The earth is groaning. 

The world is not listening to the Lord. In fact we are ignoring Him. Mocking him. Replacing Him. We are worshipping youth, athletes, movie stars, lifestyles, sex, and money. God is trying desperately to get our attention. To warn us. Yet the entire world is walking  through life believing these luxuries will never end.  Walking  zombies oblivious to anything that doesn't self soothe or self promote. 

If you are a Believer this is an amazing time to be alive. You can see not only his glory but his story everywhere! I feel like I'm on the top of that mountain. I'm in that hazy area. I know people can see me but they aren't paying attention. I can see them all around me marching like ants. Running too and fro. Too caught up in what is pleasurably around them to stop and see the reality of God moving. But on this mountain where I'm separated from the rest of the world? Wow, He is so close! Some moments I feel as if I can literally reach out and touch Him. I get so excited I can hardly contain myself. 

If we've truly met Him face to face we can never be the same again. We want the good news of the gospel to go forth. We want every one we meet to know the future they have with Christ. We want people to pay attention to what the Lord is telling us through scripture. We want our loved ones to make the connection between Jesus' promises and current day events. We want our friends and family to be ready. We want the whole world to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Their Redeemer. 

Sometimes I get the urge to just walk up to people and say "Get ready! Look up! Stop looking around you! You are going to miss Him! Look up! Wait for His Glory!" Do you feel that way? If not then why? Are you still so entrenched in the world that you can't imagine a life without your worldly pleasures and treasures? If so, ask God to show you His glory. It's everywhere and it should be our everything.  

"when you see all these things taking place, you can know that my return is very near"-Mark 13:29

Divine Fulfillment

We've all seen the story that has gone viral. The North Carolina marine, soon to be husband, praying with his bride-to-be prior to reciting their wedding vows. It literally melts your heart. If it doesn't touch your inner soul? Well, you probably don't like puppies and kittens either. Just saying.

That photo is the picture of a marriage that will be built on Godly principles. Will that intimate moment, so beautifully captured, guarantee that couples marriage to be successful ? No. There are no earthly guarantees. But putting Jesus at the forefront of your marriage most certainly increases the odds.

Both of my daughters are of marrying age. I have prayed for their future spouses for as long as I can remember. I pray that they marry Godly men. Men who seek Gods counsel before their own desires. Men who will love, cherish, and honor my daughters. That's a tall order. And in their Daddy's eyes? Well, he's already been quite verbal about giving and not giving his blessing. My future sons in law have an extremely hard act to follow. 

Our oldest daughter bases every boy she's dated on her Dads standards. Amazingly, even with all of her sorority sisters getting married, she would rather fly solo than settle. The last "boy" she dated was precious. She moved on after only half a dozen dinner dates.  She knew, as personable and handsome as he is, there was no future with him. 

Not gonna lie, her sister and I really liked that one...a lot. Yet I admire the fact that she refuses to settle. She knows what she wants: a Godly marriage. A pure relationship. In her generation that is next to impossible. She's completely okay waiting on God to find her "the one". Not sure she'll find him in our tiny town. It doesn't seem to concern her in the least. Her sister and I on the other hand? We've always got our eyes open in the event she becomes too tunnel visioned. Ha!

Back to the marine. Why has this photo brought so much national attention? There is a hole in each and every one of us that can only be filled with the Holy Spirit. Most of us spend a lifetime trying to fill that void with things that are both tangible and intangible.  That photo, to me, captures all that God has in store for us. The divine fulfillment of a void all of us are desperately trying to fill. The promise of two lives coming together with God at the center. True love, servitude, and obedience in its purest form. It represents the blessed hope we all desire. To be loved as beautifully as God loves us.

"If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me"-Jeremiah 29:13

The Way God Ordained It

I seldom get in a bad mood. Mostly because I  truly believe that my reality is the way God ordained it. The past few days though I've been in a funk. Instead of my glass half full attitude all I've been focusing on is the half empty. The things that I can't get back. Certain physical freedoms I no longer have.The things that will never be. 

My husband and I rarely disagree. We are currently at an impasse. We both envision two different solutions to my long term care. Our future. Ideally I'd like to downsize. Buy a patio home in the town he works in and a bigger place at the beach. The health care facilities are excellent and he has offices in both locations. 

This past year our oldest daughter lived with us while she completed her student teaching. It has been wonderful having her here. And I'll be honest, with my in laws outside of town now and my husband working 30 minutes away? Having our daughter here has been a security blanket for me. But in August she will begin teaching. It's time for her to begin her own life. 

Therein lies the impasse. I want to move now. I don't want to be left behind.  My husbands reality is that we have one more child to get through college. It is our reality. But I don't like it. Quite frankly it brings me great anxiety thinking about being in town without a family member around the corner.

Yesterday while riding home from the beach--and let's be honest pouting like a child--I opened my bible. This was the scripture I turned to:

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."-Phillipians 4:6

I've been mulling this one over for a good 24 hours. The Lord tells us not to worry about anything. Instead pray about not just our worries but every single thing. Okay, easy enough. He tells us to come to Him with all of our needs. He wants us to appreciate and thank Him for all that we have. Guess what? He never says He will give us what we think we need. 

Read it again. "Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done". "What the heck, Lord?!" Was my first fleshly thought. Hmmm. So, I come to Him with thanksgiving. I present my needs to Him. Then what? And if we are being candid? Why bother, Lord? I mean what's the point if You're not going to give us our wants and wishes? Gasp, did I just ask that? Oh come on, you know you were thinking it too!

I have pondered this scripture now for twenty four hours. I've prayed for a fresh revelation. In the early dawn hours I believe He has answered me. To trust God with our lives we must be absolutely dependent upon Him. As we come before His throne we are submitting our lives to Him. We are petitioning to His Majesty our desires. Our wants. Our wishes. Our dreams. And like every attentive parent He lovingly hears our requests. 

But He also wants us to appreciate what we DO have versus  what we don't. He wants to hear all about it. Engage in conversation with Him. He promises to be the Great I am. He never promises us "I will". He's certainly capable. But He doesn't promise it. Probably because the more we pray the less of the world we want. 

There is my revelation! I have been more in the world than I have been the word. Nine times out of ten when I am not reading my bible and praying daily my fleshly needs and wants slowly creep in. When that happens? Well, I want more of the world and less of Him. I'm trusting my flesh to guide my future. For me, at least, this is never a good thing. My fleshly desires can never be quieted. I always want more. If I'm in His word daily? Talking it out with Jesus? Well, I truly come to rely on His will for me. Less of me and more of Him. 

This past week it's been more of me and less of Him. I don't understand how He works. All I know is that He does. As long as I walk with Him daily He won't leave me behind. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding"- Proverbs 3:5

An Intimate Reminder

One of the things I love, and sometimes hate, about my husband is that he challenges me. On days that aren't great he pushes me. Forces me to never quit. It might be something as simple as a drive downtown to the river. We watch the families fishing. The teenagers up to no good. We listen to the water. Observe the current. The flow of the Neuse as it swishes past the muddy banks with its hanging Spanish moss. We observe, often in silence, the beautiful Eastern North Carolina sunsets. It gives me peace. Perspective. Out of all the monetary gifts he has given me these gifts of time, reflection, and observation are my favorite. They are an intimate reminder of all that God blesses us with. 

Beauty surrounds all of us even when our lives sometimes seem ugly. Mundane. Too busy. Too lonely. Too overwhelming. He is always there. He never leaves us. The fact of the matter is that usually we leave Him. We cry out to Him wondering where He is. We get mad at Him because we can't feel Him. Upset that we feel empty and lonely despite our busy social schedules. Yet we don't stop to see Him in our midst. We are too busy. But He is right there with us. Beckoning us to take a few minutes to commune with Him. 

I think my ten year old nephews generation is missing out. They are missing the wonder of catching lightening bugs in a mason jar on a summers night. The pure exhilaration of kick the can under the street lights. The unprecedented first taste of freedom riding your bike with friends (without parents). Laying in the backyard on dew kissed grass watching shooting stars. They are missing out on experiencing just how wondrous God is. Knowing that He made it all. Being in awe of His creation. 

Sadly the next generation is in awe of iPhones, iPads, technology, video games, and YouTube. Immediate gratification. Nonstop action. Overload of mindless stimulation of the brain. And we wonder why young people don't believe in God? Why should they? Technology provides them with immediate answers to anything. No pondering life. No figuring out who they are and where their place in the world is. Google tells them anything they need to know. Why pray about it? Why converse with Jesus about life? There's no need too. The Internet has all of the answers to life. It has replaced God for many.

The Lord really is right beside us. He is patiently waiting for us to give Him some free time. We don't even have to carry on a conversation. All we have to do is be there. He will show up in the sunrise. He will show up in the clear blue sky. He will show up in the glorious pinks and oranges of the sunset. We just need to be still. Come into His presence. Breath out. Soften our shoulders. Unleash the burdens of our day. Breath in. And just watch. I promise you will see Him.

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."-Psalm 19:1