Thankful Thursday on Friday - Mountains

Yesterday was a day of driving and driving and driving, but ending up in the mountains is well worth it!  6 1/2 more hours today and I will be walking into our Colorado place. What a huge blessing.  So few words today - and some pictures to share.  The Lord uses this place in so many ways in my life and He uses it to bless others as well. 

 

 Wouldn't you agree that the mountains are shouting His praise!  Enjoy this Easter weekend.  This is what it is all about - our Living, Risen Savior!   

Because he lives

I can face tomorrow

Because he lives

All fear is gone

Because I know

He holds the future

And life and is worth the living

Just because he lives
 

Monday Musings - True Love

I've been reading through 1st Corinthians this month and I finally came to chapter 13 - the LOVE chapter.  Well, it is referred to that way quite often.  It is used in a lot of weddings and it appears on posters, pinterest and facebook.  I imagine that some who have used it don't even know it comes from the Bible. 

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,  does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.   Love never fails . . .

I love this passage too.  It sets a high standard.  The reality of living this out is pretty tough. How do I practically do this?


*Love is patient:  stop, think, breathe, cut some slack, assume the best . . .

*Love is kind:  It is the little things that communicate kindness.  These are often things that no one else would even notice, except for the person who receives the kindness.  To that one - it is HUGE.

*Love is not jealous:  I want to be a cheerleader for the success and happiness of others.  I want to rest assured that if God didn't give it to me, I don't need it.  I can rest in His sufficiency.

*Love does not brag, is not arrogant:  This is where the passage shifts from love is to love is not.  Sometimes, something is best defined by eliminating what it is not. There are few things more unattractive than bragging and boasting.  Additionally, I don't have anything to boast or brag about.  Anything good in me is of the Lord, not myself.  Anytime I find myself doing this, I know that insecurity is rearing its ugly head.

*Love does not act unbecomingly:  Hmmm . . . does my behavior communicate my love for others?

*Love does not seek its own:  Oh, selfishness, self-centeredness, self absorption . . . BOO  How about selflessness, humility, and the desire to yield.

*Love is not provoked:  How easily am I angered?  frustrated?  Can I see behind the behavior of another to their hurt, anger or disappointment?


*Love does not take into account a wrong suffered:  This one is hard.  Past hurts and heartaches can somehow jump to the forefront of my mind.  I want to be someone who readily forgives, does not harbor anger and does not allow bitterness to settle into my soul.  It is my own heart that suffers when I allow this.

*Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth:  Here, we see what love is not and what it is.  What captures my attention?  Is is all the Hollywood gossip with the latest split up and scandal, the drama and trauma of those I know - or am I rejoicing in the truth of God's goodness and His Word?  I want to choose the Truth.

*Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things:  I want to always see the best in others, hang in there even when the going gets rough and believe in the transformational power of Jesus in my life, as well as, in the lives of others.  Hanging in there with people and journeying along side of them is sometimes very difficult and draining.  But, it is the call of love.

*Love never fails:  While I fail numerous times - the love of Jesus never fails.  His death on the cross and His resurrection cover my multitude of sins.  His love is more powerful than my lack and because of that -- others will be able to see His love even in my weaknesses.

Love never fails.

Jesus never fails.

Amazing love, how can it be

That you, my King, would die for me

Amazing love, I know its true

It's my joy to honor You

How will you show love this week?

Thankful Thursday - Who I Am

Who am I?  

Well, that is an age old question.  I was reading Judges 6-7 this morning.  This is the story of Gideon.  Gideon is in the promised land, but his people have been disobedient to the Lord in multiple ways, including worshiping idols.  As a result, they find themselves oppressed by their enemies.  Gideon is actually threshing wheat in a wine press - in other words, he is hiding out.  He is afraid and no doubt, very discouraged.

An angel of the Lord comes to him and says, 

"The Lord is with you, valiant warrior."  

I'm pretty sure that Gideon looked all around the room and wondered who in the world this angel was talking to.  He was fearful, young, from a small tribe and hiding out so that the enemy wouldn't notice him.  Words like "valiant" and "warrior" were not even on his radar.


I've always been fascinated with this story because Gideon asks for numerous signs from the Lord that what He is being told is actually from Him and will take place.  The Lord does every one of them - without scolding him.  The Lord seems happy to confirm and reaffirm His word to him over and over.  All along the way, He is building Gideon's faith and readying him for the task ahead.


Gideon is asked to take down his father's altar to Baal.  I'm wondering if that was scarier to him that attacking his enemy.  Oh, starting at home.  That can be the toughest place to start.  Then, Gideon is told that he will be conquering the Midianites.  The spirit of the Lord comes on him and he raises up an army of 22,000 men.  God tells him that is too many - I love that.


Through a series of tests, the army goes from 22,000 to 300.  God says, that will do.  Gideon works his plan and victory is theirs.  With only 300 men, there is no doubt that the victory was the Lord's and not man's.  

Valiant Warrior - well, that turned out to 

be precisely who Gideon was.  

Like Gideon, I see my weaknesses and faults far more quickly than I see who the Lord intends for me to be.  Perhaps it is because He sees me through the righteousness of Christ.  He sees all that I can be and all that He intends for me to be.  He knows that the things He calls me to do are done in His power and not mine.  He challenges me to believe that I am who He says that I am, even if I don't immediately recognize it.

I am thankful that my God sees me as His child. 

I am thankful that He has plans and purpose for me.  

I am thankful that He will complete the good 

work that He has begun. 

I am thankful that who I am rests 

in His very capable hands.

What are you thankful for today?

Monday Musings - Fruit - Part 2

Whew - I have had a busy last week full of really great things.  I am so grateful for the people that I have in my life and the opportunities that the Lord gives me.

Have you been thinking about the fruit in your life and 

the pruning that is taking place?

Here is another sign that was in the tool shed at the apple orchard (if you have no idea what I am talking about, check out last Monday's posting!)

Pruning is for a purpose - it is not just random chopping off branches for fun.  It is deliberate and intentional.  This is just as true of the pruning that the Lord does in our lives.

*Pruning thins out a tree so that it can get air and light.  We can also find ourselves needing this.  We get too bogged down in this old world.  We get too busy and we sometimes feel like we are trapped in darkness.  The Lord wants us to breathe freely and to have His light all around us.  Something may need to go for this to happen.

*Pruning lessens damage.  If you have lived long at all, you know that the storms of life come our way.  The wind howls and the rain comes down.  Lightening flashes across the sky and thunder rolls.  I'm sure, like me, you have seen all the branches that have broken off the trees and are laying on the ground.  Pruning gets rid of the weaker branches so that the stronger branches can remain, even in adverse conditions.  The Lord's pruning in our lives does the same thing.  As He cuts out those things that weaken us, we are made stronger to withstand the storms that will inevitably come our way.

*Pruning corrects or repairs damage.  I have met so many people who have heart breaking stories - serious heart damage in their past relationships and hurts that go deep.  The Lord's pruning gets in there and trims out those damaged and diseased portions.  As healing takes place, those areas of our lives become useful and fruitful.

*Reasons 3 through 6 are all about getting that tree in the best condition to produce the best fruit possible.  Pruning prepares us for maximum, healthy growth.

*Pruning compensates for transplanting - oh how I love this one. As one who has been transplanted many, many times, this one is a favorite.  The Lord has done some major work and amazing stuff in my life each place that we have lived.  He has used His Word and His people to change me forever.  When He is the one doing the pruning - the transplant is vital and the transplanted one can thrive.  Praise the Lord.

The Lord has a plan for you.  He has fruit that He wishes for you to bear.  That fruit will be used to draw others to the Kingdom of God and to bless the lives of those around you.  The fruit in your life will also be a blessing to you and bring you great joy.

God's pruning comes from His heart to see us thrive.  He desires that we live in His joy, bearing His fruit.

 This is what those beautiful apple trees and apples looked like after they had been cared for, nurtured and ripened. 

Be encouraged, my friend.  The Lord knows exactly what you need in order to yield the most beautiful fruit in your life.  

Just as fruit does the body good . . . 

the fruit of the Lord enriches the body of Christ.

Be fruitful and multiply (blessings that is!)

Thankful Thursday - Grace (my grandmother - that is!)

Today is my grandmother, Audie Grace Cunningham's, 95th birthday. 

Happy Birthday Granny!

I feel truly blessed to be 52 years old and still have my grandmother.  It is fun to think back all the way through my life and remember so many great times that we have shared.  


Some of my best childhood memories took place on my grandparent's farm in central Texas.  I got to watch sheep be sheared, goats herded, cattle rounded up, horses trained and gather freshly laid eggs from the chicken coop.  Life was simple and it was an adventure when we were at the farm.  When I went to college at Baylor, I got to spend time back out at the farm.  It was a place of refuge and rest.  My girls got to spend time at the farm also.  My grandmother loves my girls as much as she loves me.  Her arms are big enough to reach around a very big family. 

There have been many things that I have learned from my grandmother over the years.


*She modeled working hard.

*She loved serving and giving to others.

*She taught me what faith looks like when it is lived out in hard circumstances.

*She showed me what it meant to love your husband in sickness and in health.

*She showed me what faithful grieving looks like.

*She has lived a life more independently than any so called "modern woman" ever could.

*She is tough as nails . . . seriously, as tough as nails.

*She proves that you can eat biscuits, gravy and bacon - and still be healthy.

*She watched out for her neighbors and loved her church.

*She never gave up.

*She loves Jesus, big time.

*She has always loved me, encouraged me and prayed for me.

I love you Grannie - 

and I am thankful for you 

and all that you have 

taught me over the years. 

Happy Birthday!

Monday Musings - Fruit - Part 1

I have been reading Galatians this week and today I came across that very familiar passage in chapter 5, vs 22 about the fruit of the Spirit . . .


But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, against such things there is no law . . . if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (let us keep in step with the Spirit.)


Suddenly, my mind was filled with all these images of fruit!  Not so much literal fruit, as all the imagery that is used in the Scripture to describe our Christ-filled life as it is lived out.


Proverbs 11:30   A good life is a fruit bearing tree


Matthew 12:33  The fruit tells you about the tree


Romans 11  If . . . the primary root of the tree is holy, there's bound to be some holy fruit


Philippians 1:10   . . . bountiful with fruits from the soul


Colossians 1:6   . . . the message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you.


James 2   . . . our faith should be fruitful


So, I would say that the Lord is concerned about the fruit our lives are bearing.    This passage in Galatians tells us that the Spirit has given us this fruit already.  We have it - but we still have to choose to display it.

Can I just say that some of us are hiding our fruit?

John 15 is one of my favorite passages about this subject.  "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit."  

Pruning . . . Last fall, Alan and I went to an apple orchard in Minnesota.  Beautiful.  There was a shed at the beginning of the orchard where they had a display of old tools.  I was intrigued by these signs.

So - when the Lord is pruning me, it is to maintain my spiritual health.  He cuts out the dead, diseased and injured wood so that I can flourish in my walk with Him.  Some of this pruning is a bit painful, but it is necessary.

How about preventing trouble?  Oh yeah.  There are those little sins and habits that I start to baby and nourish - the Lord, in His mercy, just cuts that stuff out.


Pruning also controls growth and form.  The Lord is shaping me into the image of His Son.  He uses the joys and trials of my life to mold and shape me into that form.  

Look at encouraging the yield - I love this one.  The Lord wants to produce just the right kind of fruit in my life.  Removing fruit spurs make fewer blossoms (you know, the showy, outer stuff) but it makes the fruit larger.  Hmmm . . .  that is something to ponder.

When I saw this list of tools, I started thinking about all the ways the Lord has brought pruning into my life.  Sometimes, those small one-handed pruning shears were enough.  I was attentive and obedient rather quickly and the pruning was fairly easy.  I have certainly experienced the lopping shears.  OUCH  Sometimes, that dead thing just had to go and go quickly.  Then we moved into the saws . . . Perhaps some stubborn disobedience or a season where my ears became dull to the whispers of the Lord.  The serious tools had to be brought out.  Lord, help me, when the power pruners have to come out.  My prayer is that I will be much more pliable than that.  

Is that enough for you to ponder today?

  

Do you need to speak to the Lord about your pruning?  

I'm going to continue this on my next Monday Musing.  Stay tuned for more pruning information . . . In the meantime, go and bear good fruit for the Kingdom.

Thankful Thursday - PT

Praise the Lord - the boot is off my foot and I can actually wear shoes on both of my feet.  I have to wear a tennis shoe most of the time, but at least it is a shoe.  I started physical therapy a couple of weeks ago.  It is as much for plantar fasciitis as it is for the fractured bone.  If you don't know what plantar fasciitis is - be happy. It is inflammation of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. This tissue is called the plantar fascia. It connects the heel bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot.  When this is inflamed, it makes walking very painful and the tightness goes all the way up your calf muscle.  In short - it is not FUN.  I am so thankful to be getting some relief from the pain.


I assume that when the Lord puts me with a new person in my life, there is purpose in that.  So - enter Stephanie Penny, my physical therapist.

She is a great physical therapist and a very sweet girl.  She is about the same age as my Ashley - so that is just a sweet thing right there.  She is from Michigan, she loves her family, she loves her job and she is working hard to get additional certifications.  We always have good conversations.  We spend an hour together twice a week, so I figure that I will know her pretty well by the end of all that. 


What does the Lord have in mind for Stephanie and I?  I am eager to find out.  I am going to invite her to my church and I'd love to include her in some girl's nights.  We will see where the Lord takes that.  I'm not sure where she is coming from spiritually, so I will be exploring that in the weeks to come.  I have had the opportunity to share a bit about my faith and I have an idea that I will have many more opportunities to do that.


Who knew that the Lord would use all my foot ailments to bring someone new into my life?  I am grateful for that.

Stephanie - watch out.  I'm already invested in you.

I am thankful for physical therapy - but I am even more thankful for my therapist.  I am thankful for physical healing, but I am even more thankful for spiritual healing.

I know that Romans 8:28 is quoted a lot, but I think it fits here:

For we know that God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes.

I love that the Lord has used my fractured foot in so many positive ways.  He has brought so much good out of what could have been seen as a very bad situation.  He is at work and His purposes are being accomplished.  I am so thankful that His promises are true.