God Does the "Mom-Bar"

As I was looking for just the right picture to go with this post, I kept coming across this one. If you'll notice, the child looks absolutely terrified. This is the same look I sometimes get when facing certain situations. Check out the mom, though. You've heard of the mambo? Well, she's doing what I call the "mom-bar". You know what I'm talking about. It's when your mom magically turns her arm into a bar of steel to keep you from going through the front windshield of her car anytime she has to hit the brakes. Well, this woman has got it down!! Though she may be scared, herself, she will make sure that no one and nothing will hurt her child, regardless of the situation. Well, that's what a parent does; and so we must remember that God is our parent. He is going to do whatever it takes to keep us safe on our own personal roller coasters. The next time the ups and downs seem to be too much for you, remember that God is right next to you doing the "mom-bar".

Prayers and Praises

Please pray for some people I know who are separated and going through a rough time.

I passed a funeral today. I do not know who died, but God knows. Please pray for their family.

Please pray for the Danners. They recently had a death in the family.

Please pray for my professor who is helping to care for his mother who has Alzheimer's.

Thank you, God, for showing yourself to me in so many different ways.

Thank you, God, for your provisions. You go beyond my needs and touch my desires.

Please pray for D.

Please pray for continued healing for Pat from knee surgery.

Thank you, God, for working in the lives of each of these people.

Lesson for the Week

Here is another wonderful lesson from Miss Tericia Summers! I know you all be blessed by it as I was.

Lessons Through a Dying Tomato Plant

It’s amazing how the simple things in life can teach us so much spiritually. Just the other day I was pruning my poor tomato plants in an attempt to bring them back to life after a long drought. I had intended on going out for a prayer walk, but got distracted (amazing how He does that) by the near death appearance the two plants. As I pruned, I could not get the verses "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:1-2) out of my head. The lesson for me in that simple task suddenly became crystal clear. There are branches in my life that are not bearing fruit. No matter how much of myself I pour into them. They are withering and dying; turning brown and spotted. God wants to remove them and I must let him. There are branches on my tomato plants that are bearing fruit, even though we are 14 inches behind in rainfall and I forget frequently to water them. Amazing what God can do. I have no idea how. I have even eaten the ripe ones; they are delicious. Just like in my life, when I am experiencing what I perceive to be a drought; I cannot see or feel the Holy Spirit “raining” down on me, but he is still there, bearing fruit in my life: delicious fruit that feeds others. I do not ask how; I just marvel and give thanks. The branches that have no fruit, and will never because they are brown, wilted and dead, I pull off or I snip. They must be cast aside so that the energy, nourishment and water can go to the branches with fruit and the tender new shoots that have miraculously sprung up. When I am done, my poor tomato plants look stark and skinny, but the next day, the droopy branches are standing slightly taller and look slightly greener. Fruit that was taking forever to ripen is now suddenly riper and closer to harvest. The same is true in my life. God must strip away the dead so that the life giving Spirit inside me can focus on growing the new tender shoots and ripening the fruit, making it ready to harvest. Sure, my life might look stark and skinny, but I can stand tall and look a little healthier with each passing day. One of my tomato plants managed to grow a few fruit-laden branches outside of the protective metal frame I had provided. I had to delicately remove the frame and reset the plant so that the heavy bent branches could rest on the frame for strength. Sometimes in my life, God has to reset me because I am trying to grow branches that are outside the protective frame of his Word. It is at those times that he has to gently, lovingly reposition me so that my heavy bent branches can rest on His frame for strength. You see, the strength was there the entire time; IT never moved or left. I was the one who tried to make it outside of His protection and strength. I began to bear fruit, but it became heavy and my branches began to bend and split. When he repositioned me, some of my branches had to be removed, but it was for the better, just as my tomato plant is better without the troublesome branches. That day, prayer took on a whole different format. I was not walking and talking with the Lord, sharing my praises, concerns and desires. I was tending to my garden while He tended to my Soul.

Prayers and Praises

Please pray for me and my ministry.

Please pray for the Christian family. They had a death in the family.

Please pray for all the single moms out there who are just trying to keep it together.

Please pray for Pat as she is recovering from knee surgery.

Praise God for the talent He gave to my niece. Pray that she uses it for His glory.

Praise God for keeping my family safe as they traveled these past few weeks.

Pray for D as his job is very stressful. Help him to keep a positive attitude.

Lesson for the Week

The Red Herring

How many of you have heard of the ‘red herring’? It is “a deliberate attempt to change a subject or divert an argument.” (Wikipedia.com). We’ve all used this tactic a time or two. Think back to when you were kids. If you were in trouble, what was the first thing you said to your parents? “All my friends are doing it!” To which our parents would kindly respond, “If all your friends were going to jump off a bridge, would you do it too?” I can remember being in trouble, and instead of just sucking it up and taking responsibility for what I’d done, I would tell them something my sister did wrong in order to take the focus off of me. That is a classic ‘red herring’. The funny thing about this ploy is that even as adults, we still use it; and the bad thing is we use it in our relationship with God. I remember a time when God asked me to stop watching a certain TV show that I really liked. I even had videos of the show, and my friends and I would talk about it all the time. My natural response to this request was, “But God, what about my friends?” His response was, “We’re not talking about your friends. We’re talking about you.” OUCH! How many of you remember your parents throwing that one at you when you were a teenager? It turned out that the request was just a temporary one. That particular show, at that particular time in my life, was taking up too much of my energy; and was taking my focus away from God. Now I can occasionally enjoy the show in syndication, and it doesn’t consume my thoughts the way it used to. Once again, God showed me that His way is best. The next time God is dealing with you about something in your life and your natural inclination is to say, “But God…” stop yourself and think. Am I getting ready to throw a ‘red herring’ on the subject? What are God’s reasons for what he is asking me to do? Do I even have to know what the reasons are in order to follow Him? Do I really believe that His way is best? Some of these questions are hard, but they may be necessary. If you’re having trouble with His requests, remember that God is always in control, He knows everything, and He won’t give you anything you can’t handle.

Romans 8:5-17
Psalm 32:8-9
Matthew 16:24-26

Lesson for the Week - Praise Through the Storm

This lesson was written by one of our partners, Tericia. I know you will be blessed by it.

When I woke up today, I had two choices. I could choose to allow this to be a difficult day emotionally, reminding me of what happened one year ago and all of the stress and heartache that it caused; OR I could choose to allow this day to be a marking stone in my life. One that notes the growth and change God has made in my faith journey.

I started the day choosing emotional difficulty; I had been planning to have a difficult day for a while. It is as if I wanted to torture myself by reliving the pain and agony of betrayal. It was not until I encountered a devotional based on Proverbs 4:23 – “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (GN) that I realized I could choose to have a great day regardless of what anniversary it marked. God wants me to let go of the pain, not relive it! He wants me to learn from the pain, not lean on it! He wants me to praise him through the storms, not pray to avoid them!

As I look back over the past 12 months, I am amazed at how far I have come in this difficult journey. I remember at times lying on the hard concrete of the back porch weeping and wailing to God that my heart was breaking, to please stop the pain. I remember telling Him that I believed His promises to be there always and that I knew I would survive the pain and difficult times, but right in the moment, I was not feeling it. At that precise moment, I could not see the light nor feel the joy. I felt as if I would be in that emotional turmoil forever. I turned my tear-stained face to Him and thanked him then for the joy I knew He would bring me, just in case I forgot to thank Him when the joy arrived! That began to turn the corner for me. No, I did not get all the answers. My marriage did not miraculously heal; my husband did not turn away from his poor choices. However, my heart began to heal in God’s promises. I thanked Him daily for the joyous end he would bring to my heartache and pain. I thanked Him for how He would work in my husband’s life, despite the fact that our marriage likely would end. I thanked him for the solutions I knew He would bring, even if I did not know what they would be. Some of those solutions are still His secret. That’s ok. I know He is AWESOME and Lord of all. He can and will have His will in my life. He will use me to bring Him praise. That is amazing!

I choose today to let go of the past and look for the awesome, amazing miracles He has planned for my life today, right now. Storms will come. That’s fine. I have built my life on the solid rock of Jesus, and to quote one of my favorite songs, “I will praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands because you are who you are, no matter where I am. And every tear I cry, you hold in your hands. You never left my side. Though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm.” Praise Him today, forever.

Prayers and Praises

Lord, please help me as I deal with an emotionally difficult end to a relationship.

Lord, please be with those out in the mid-west who are dealing with all the tornadoes. Be with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones.

Please pray for guidance for me as I look for a new place to live.

Please pray for J.

Please pray for D as he travels.

Thank you, God, for loving me even when I don't love myself.

Thank you, God, for getting me through finals! Thank you for helping me to do well this past semester. Please help me as I begin summer school in about two weeks.

Lesson for the Week

Becoming a Better Me

Recently my mother read a story to my daughter called “The White Glove”. The story was about a boy who asked his grandmother to knit him a special set of gloves. While the boy was out playing in the snow, he lost one of his gloves. During that afternoon, the glove was found by several different animals: each one deciding to make the glove a temporary home in the cold weather. As each animal entered the glove, it kept getting larger and larger until it was almost unrecognizable. Do you feel as if you are being stretched in your life? Do you feel stretched to the point sometimes where you may not even recognize yourself? Being stretched in the Kingdom of God is not a bad thing as long as the lessons you are learning are bringing you to a better understanding of who God is, and of who God wants you to be. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 5: 22-24, NIV). I see the “new self” as being that better version of ourselves we keep striving for; but without God’s help, we will always miss the mark. God is at work every day creating opportunities for you to “put off your old self” and “put on the new self”. As these opportunities arise, let God walk you through each one so that your relationship with Him may become stronger and your “new self” will shine.

Praise of the Day

God, thank you for understanding me, even when I don't understand myself!!

Prayer Requests and Praises

Please pray for the people throughout the western states who have been dealing with the effects of the weekend storm. Please pray for those who have lost loved ones due to flooding and tornadoes.

Please pray for me and all the students who are taking finals!

Please pray for my daughter as she continues to deal with the fear of abandonment.

Please pray for me as my stress level has been very high over the last week.

Pray for my family who will be traveling over the next few days.

Please pray for my boyfriend who will be traveling over the next couple of weeks.

Pray for all the students who will be graduating next week. Many will be finishing school without a job waiting for them. God, they need your direction.

Please pray for my daughter and step-daughter. Both of their birthdays are this week! (The parents need a little help in the sanity department as well!!)

God, thank you for the peace that passes understanding.

God, thank you for taking care of each of these needs and desires. Help each of us to remember that we are truly blessed in you!!