Monday Musings: Who is He to you?

I have arrived in paradise . . . no, not heaven . . . no, not Hawaii . . . COLORADO.  Check back on Thursday for some amazing pictures of the fall color.  How I LOVE this place.

When I was thinking about what I would write about today, I camped out on Psalm 145.  I read it yesterday and have been thinking about it ever since.  It has multiple names of God and descriptions of Him in it.  Here they are:

My God, My King
     Great is the Lord
                 Unsearchable Greatness

Doer of Mighty Acts
            Glorious Splendor of His Majesty

Wonderful Works
                Awesome Acts
 Abundant Goodness
                Righteous One
Gracious One
                Merciful

Slow to anger . . . Great in lovingkindness
      Good to all

Powerful

The Lord  Sustains 
                      Nourishes  
                   Satisfies   
                       Restores

He is Righteous, Kind and Near
         He fulfills my desire
                  He keeps me

As I looked over that list, I was most encouraged today that the Lord sustains, nourishes, satisfies and restores.  That is just good news to my soul today.  He has me covered in every way.  In Him, I find true nourishment (the food of His Word and the water of the Spirit).  Only in Him can I find true satisfaction.  He satisfies my soul in ways that nothing else and no one else can.  He has restored the broken places in my life and given me abundant JOY.

So, I'm wondering what calls out to you today?  

What do you most appreciate in these verses?  

I'd love to hear about it.

All praise to the One who Restores my soul.

Thankful Thursday: The Bigger Picture

Hello Thankful Thursday.  One of my favorite days.  Don't you just love a thankful Thursday?  I have to admit that one of the things I am most thankful for at the moment is that we are leaving early in the morning to head to Colorado.  How I have missed my mountains.  I CAN NOT wait to be there.

More about that next Thursday . . .

I have been reading through the book of Daniel this week.  I LOVE the book of Daniel.  It is so rich and there are so many lessons about life on each page.  Daniel and his 3 buddies are some of my greatest heroes.  They challenge me to live a life that has a godly influence.

Since I spent the summer studying Nehemiah, it is so much fun for me to read Daniel again with that context in mind.  Daniel was among the first captives taken from Jerusalem to Babylon.  He was among a group of Jerusalem's finest -- choice picks to be trained for the king's service in Babylon.

I love that even though Daniel was young, he was so determined to live a life devoted to God.  I think this is the reason that the Lord used Him so mightily in the midst of a pagan culture.  Right away, Daniel and his 3 close friends were challenged to keep themselves eating "clean" rather than eating the king's choice food.

*Daniel was always respectful - he sought permission to eat food other than the king's food.  He never made demands.

*God gave him favor through this process - with the officials and in his superior physical appearance at the end of the food challenge.

*God gave him knowledge and intelligence -- visions and dreams.

*God gave him a position of tremendous influence for 70+ years.

I love that God had a plan in the midst of what was seemingly a huge tragedy.  Daniel rose to the occasion, trusting the Lord even in this period of captivity.  It may have appeared that Daniel was cooperating with Nebuchadnezzar, but in reality, God was the One working His plan.  

God wants to do the same thing now.  He longs to use His people in the midst of their families, neighborhoods, workplaces, cities and nations to be a godly influence.  He grants favor and opportunity.

I am so thankful that the Lord has a plan for me.  

I am thankful that I have the privilege and opportunity to be a godly influence where He has placed me.

I am thankful for the opportunities that come my way - those disguised as difficulties and those that jump out at me as obvious opportunities.

I am thankful for a God that ALWAYS sees the BIGGER PICTURE.

Tuesday's Thoughts: Looking back

Are you one to look back or one to look forward?  I think people have a bent one way or the other.  I also think that we all have a tendency to look back when things are hard.

Doesn't the past look rosier when the present is difficult?

That is where the people of Israel are in Jeremiah 42-44.  They are being told that they will be in captivity in Babylon but that the Lord will be with them, save and deliver them and they will eventually get back to their homeland.  Now, there is some good news in there, but most of us would get a bit overwhelmed by the first line and find it hard to hear the rest.

Now, the Lord knew their tendencies and their wandering hearts.  He specifically told them "Do not go back to Egypt . . . if you do, you will die there." 

Why did the Lord not want them to go back to Egypt?  It had been a while and these people did not know this from first hand experience - but Egypt was a place of slavery and torment.  These stories of slavery and stories of God's miraculous deliverance were told and retold down through the generations.  This was a GIANT step backwards in their walk with God.  

Why did they want to go back to Egypt? 
Perhaps stories had been told that glorified some aspects of Egyptian life?  Maybe they preferred a known enemy.

They were at a crossroad of trust where even the dark past looked inviting. 

Why do we, as God's people, return to places of captivity?  to places of our sinful past?  to places of hurt and defeat?

Why are we just more comfortable in our known misery?

Maybe this is one reason that keeping a journal is wise.  This is why sharing our story with others is important.  It reminds us of just what we have been saved from and what we are moving toward.  

On Saturday, I saw an older man, dressed as a woman, walking down the street.  Now, in this part of Chicago, that is not terribly unusual.  My first thought was just sadness, then I thought how sin disguises itself to look like something else.  The past can dress up like a pretty lady when the reality is that it is an old man with nothing to offer you any more.  What was destructive in your life then is still destructive.  What enslaved you then could still enslave you now if you allow it.

The Lord wants us to follow Him.  We have to be moving forward to do that.  I want to keep my eyes focused ahead of me, even when it is scary or doesn't make sense.  I don't want to glorify past relationships or situations that were ultimately, not for my good.  I don't want to be trapped by my enemies and sins of the past.

The Lord promises to walk beside me.  He promises that He has a plan and that He will bring me life.  

That is my Jesus, whom I want to follow every step of the way.  I want to learn from my past, remember His faithfulness but always be looking ahead.

I'd rather be in Babylon with the Lord's presence than in Egypt sitting by the Nile in disobedience.

Are you looking to go back or are you looking to move ahead?

Thankful Friday: The Goad Invasion

Alan's family is here with us this week - his mom and dad and his brother, Brad and his wife, Rainy.  It is so much fun to have them here with us.  I am fortunate to have a family of believers that love each other.  

We got to go on the Architectural Tour yesterday.  We were on a boat going through our beautiful city.  I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the beauty here.  Chicago is truly an amazing city and I have grown to love it, dearly.  

At "the bean" - Brad, Rainy, Lyla and James (ignore the random people to the right :-))

Caught this butterfly visitor in Grant Park

Alan's home away from home

This city has beautiful architecture

I am fascinated with the underside of bridges - 

I love our glass building that reflect the older, more ornamental buildings

This building is curved to go along with the curve of the river - love the reflection

The brand new and the old side by side - Trump Tower and the Corn Cob

The corn cob up close - pretty amazing

This is the view as we headed out toward the lake

Looking back toward the city

It was a great time had by all.  I am thankful for my family and for the opportunity I have to live in this great city.  Anyone want to come visit? 

Monday Musings: A New Heart

It's Labor Day - so I have been laboring out back painting the stairs that go up the back of our building.  It was a relatively mindless task, which was a good thing for today.  It has been a busy week and next week will be busier - so it was nice to just have a do nothing kind of weekend.  

I'm reading through the book of Ezekiel right now.  He is right up there with Jeremiah as far as having a very hard job.  He was continually having to deliver bad news to the people of God (who already had a lot of bad news.)  When something encouraging comes up, it stands out.  Ezekiel 11:19-20 is one of those shining moments.

"And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them.  And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them.  Then they will be My people and I shall be their God."

Don't you long for all of God's people to have one heart?

Wouldn't you love it if everyone had a new spirit?

Wouldn't it be great if our hearts of stone were replaced with hearts of flesh that beat for God Himself?

Wouldn't it be great to have a heart that longed to walk in obedience to the Lord?

Wouldn't it be great to be God's people?

Well - we may have to wait for heaven for some of that, but the truth is, much of this is available to us right now.  God can bring unity.  He gives us His Holy Spirit.  He replaces our selfish, sinful heart that claims to not need God -- with a heart of flesh that is tender to Him.  He gives us both the desire and the strength to walk in obedience to His Word.

I am so thankful for this transformation that takes place.  I am so thankful for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His continual softening of my heart.  I am so thankful for my Jesus who has labored over me to complete that work that He began in me long ago.

Happy Labor Day, indeed.

Thankful Thursday: Mom Time

One of my favorite things about my time in Chicago is getting to know the young moms in my neighborhood and my church.  I miss my daughters so much - and I think the Lord knew that I would need young women in my life to get me through.

Yesterday, we had Mom Time at my house.  We went to the playground near my house and tried to wear the kids out . . . then came back and had lunch together.  I just recently got my good camera back to work and got to snap some pictures of these sweet little ones.

It was a spectacular day.

Mason

Maddox

Isaac

Sylvie

Israel

Paisley

Lindsey and Maddox - don't you love that expression!

Rowan

Andrew

Logan

Emily

Heather and Paisley

These women and these kiddos are such a blessing to my life.  I also get to practice my grandmother skills.

I am thankful for the amazing people that the Lord has brought into my life here in Chicago.  I am blessed, indeed.

Monday Musings: And yet God . . .

Do you have those times when there are just a lot of things swirling around in your head?  Do you have times when you have decisions to make that could be personally costly or times when you are just overwhelmed?

Me too.

Take a look at Psalm 74, verse 12.

Yet God is my king from of old,
Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.  

This Psalm was written during the period of the Babylonian exile.  Jerusalem had been all but destroyed.   Virtually all of the leadership had been carted away to Babylon along with all of the articles in the temple.  The protective walls were knocked down and the gates were burned.  The city was basically in rubble.  The first 11 verses of this Psalm are verses of desperation and lament.  The people who were left in Jerusalem were a haggard lot at best and a depressed, dysfunctional mob at worst. 

I love the shift in verse 12.  It is as if during this rant of despair - Asaph pauses and says, "Yet God."  He describes how mighty his God is and the great things that He has done.  He acknowledges God's goodness and sovereignty.  

In verses 18-23, He calls on God to defend His own Name - to save the people for His honor.  Notice the shift in focus?  

There are times when my circumstances or even just the injustices I see overwhelm me.  There are other times when I can't make sense out of things that are happening in my own life.  

What a powerful thing to step back and say - AND YET GOD.  

It changes everything.  

He is the unknown variable in the equation of life. We typically think of life as:

My knowledge + my experiences + my circumstances = Life

God can actually turn that equation inside out or upside down.  He has no limitations or boundaries.  He is . . . He always has been . . . He always will be.  With Him in the equation, nothing is impossible.

He is Almighty God who restores what 

has been broken 

Who rebuilds what has been burned

Who brings light where there is darkness

Who brings beauty out of ashes

He is the One Who changes Everything.

And Yet God