Guess you could say I don't believe in coincidences. Well, yeah, you can say that because I don't. And I'm realizing that more and more myself.
This afternoon I was taking a walk. Apparently there are a lot of oak trees in our neighborhood and I never realized it til today when I was feeling like a kid and enjoying stepping on acorns in the street. That crunch was just too much fun to resist! And I'm old enough now that I don't really care what people are thinking while I walk down the street stepping on acorns and smiling.
How does stepping on acorns in the street relate to me not believing in coincidence? Well God told me a couple of things while I was enjoying my trek today and He used those acorns to do it. It was no accident. First, seed. Acorns are seeds that fall from the oak tree. Like the parable Jesus told in Luke 8, I started thinking about sowing seed. The seed, in the parable, is the Word.
Earlier today I was present for the seed being sown in a place I normally am not in attendance. But because of my disbelief in coincidence and that I knew God was telling me to be there, I went. I observed hungry hearts. Hearts belonging to bodies that couldn't take care of themselves any longer. Minds that weren't as sharp as they once were but who wanted to hear the Word. As I watched one of these individuals repeatedly take out his false teeth and another hold up her stuffed animal and proclaim it her baby, I also saw sweet souls who hungered to be there. They didn't care who brought the Word. They didn't care if they were in a fancy building or if there was an elaborate sound system, wi-fi or fru-fru coffee available. They just knew they wanted the seed, the Word, sown in their hearts.
How many times do we overlook people? People who are really hungry for the Word. People who have lived their lives for the Lord like the ones I observed today. They have experienced Psalm 34 "O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him" and they want more! And how about people who have never know Him but they want to know Him? People who are ready to receive the seed, the Word, in their hearts and lives. So many hungry people. Really hungry people who long to have the Word sown in their hearts.
As I continued my walk and stepping on more acorns in the street and thinking of people longing for the seed, the Word, "On a hill far away stood and old Rugged Cross" started playing through my mind. Coincidence? Awwww.....we know better. Remember I was stepping on acorns. Seeds for trees. Now I'm not saying that the Cross was made of oak because I'm pretty sure it wasn't. But there were seeds that fell or were planted in good soil. That seed grew into strong trees. Those strong trees were cut down. Someone worked hard to turn that wood into a cross. The Cross. The Cross where my Savior died for my sins. He didn't have to. He chose to. God knew when (actually before) those seeds were planted that those seeds would grow into the trees that would become a cross. The Cross.
Me stepping on acorns in the street. Those seeds won't become anything. At least not something that will grow. But this time God even used those seeds that fell in the street to remind me of His love for us. A seed was planted. It grew into a tree. It became The Cross that was the instrument used to humiliate Jesus for me. To kill Jesus for me. And for you. Do you know Him? Would you like to? He's still sowing seeds today. And The Cross is not the end of the story. Praise God!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
A Do-Over
Well after I got over being a Fire Station pinup girl (Haha...not really over it!) it has been an interesting week. Of course I'm not really a Fire Station pinup girl. But I'm still smiling over seeing our anniversary announcement from the newspaper posted on the fridge at the station. When some firefighters I hadn't met before came in the bank where I work this week, I was busy on the phone. Couldn't help but wonder if they recognized me from the picture. When I mentioned it to my husband he responded that they probably didn't realize who I was because the picture was in black and white and I was in color!
Today I'm still amazed at how God chose to show me that picture on the fridge. Crazy stuff lead up to it. The devil was working overtime. But what the devil meant for evil, God used for good! So amazing how that works out! All in God's perfect timing.
Also got a do-over this week. A Holy do-over. Isn't it interesting how we can stress and worry over something from the past? I had done that. Had been told how horribly I handled something. Had been reminded of it over and over for several years. But this week, in the middle of the night (boy we have a lot of stuff that happens in the middle of the night!) something happened. This time, instead of 'dealing' with it myself, I woke my husband and told him what was up. I told him I needed him to take care of it. And he did. Did he do it like I would have done it? Not at all! There was no yelling. There were no kids storming out mad in the middle of the night. Took me soooo long to get this right. And so thankful God allowed me to have a do-over! After all, I'm not the man of the house. My husband is. And I'm thankful! I don't want that job.
Our God is the God of second chances....do-overs. Mercy. Have you ever sinned? I know. Silly question. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Then we seem to get the idea that living in that sin is all we deserve. Guess what. That's not God. The devil wants us to think we don't deserve any better. But God has a different idea. A better idea. He wants to give us a do-over. And how do we get that do-over?
Before discussing that, let's talk about what the devil tells us. He convinces us to sin. He tells us that it's not so bad. That we aren't hurting anybody. That we deserve what we interpret as happiness. He's really good at convincing us that we are right when we are really so terribly wrong. We can so easily get got caught in the trap of the enemy. A good way to test and see if it's the devil.....is what you are being told contrary to the Word of God? If so, it's the enemy. Don't listen to him! Run to the Lord as fast as you can! God will NEVER tell you to do anything or bless anything that is contrary to His Word.
When the Holy Spirit whispers to our hearts that we have sinned and need forgiveness, the enemy usually yells back, NOOOOO!!!!!! Satan is good at making us think we don't deserve any better than the sin we are wollering in. Before we are saved, he tells us we aren't bad enough to need a Savior. After we are saved he's good at telling us that we aren't good enough to deserve a Savior. Oh my, don't listen to him please!
But God. BUT GOD!!!!!!! God gave His best, Jesus, so that we can have the best, JESUS! My heart breaks for those who are listening to the lies of the devil. Those who think they are really living. Those deceived by the enemy. Those working for death. (Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death. Wow. They are working for death. But....BUT!!!!!!! the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord!!!!!!!! What a gift. So it's your choice. Death? Or would you like a Holy do-over? Just ask. The Father is waiting for you.
Today I'm still amazed at how God chose to show me that picture on the fridge. Crazy stuff lead up to it. The devil was working overtime. But what the devil meant for evil, God used for good! So amazing how that works out! All in God's perfect timing.
Also got a do-over this week. A Holy do-over. Isn't it interesting how we can stress and worry over something from the past? I had done that. Had been told how horribly I handled something. Had been reminded of it over and over for several years. But this week, in the middle of the night (boy we have a lot of stuff that happens in the middle of the night!) something happened. This time, instead of 'dealing' with it myself, I woke my husband and told him what was up. I told him I needed him to take care of it. And he did. Did he do it like I would have done it? Not at all! There was no yelling. There were no kids storming out mad in the middle of the night. Took me soooo long to get this right. And so thankful God allowed me to have a do-over! After all, I'm not the man of the house. My husband is. And I'm thankful! I don't want that job.
Our God is the God of second chances....do-overs. Mercy. Have you ever sinned? I know. Silly question. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Then we seem to get the idea that living in that sin is all we deserve. Guess what. That's not God. The devil wants us to think we don't deserve any better. But God has a different idea. A better idea. He wants to give us a do-over. And how do we get that do-over?
Before discussing that, let's talk about what the devil tells us. He convinces us to sin. He tells us that it's not so bad. That we aren't hurting anybody. That we deserve what we interpret as happiness. He's really good at convincing us that we are right when we are really so terribly wrong. We can so easily get got caught in the trap of the enemy. A good way to test and see if it's the devil.....is what you are being told contrary to the Word of God? If so, it's the enemy. Don't listen to him! Run to the Lord as fast as you can! God will NEVER tell you to do anything or bless anything that is contrary to His Word.
When the Holy Spirit whispers to our hearts that we have sinned and need forgiveness, the enemy usually yells back, NOOOOO!!!!!! Satan is good at making us think we don't deserve any better than the sin we are wollering in. Before we are saved, he tells us we aren't bad enough to need a Savior. After we are saved he's good at telling us that we aren't good enough to deserve a Savior. Oh my, don't listen to him please!
But God. BUT GOD!!!!!!! God gave His best, Jesus, so that we can have the best, JESUS! My heart breaks for those who are listening to the lies of the devil. Those who think they are really living. Those deceived by the enemy. Those working for death. (Romans 6:23) For the wages of sin is death. Wow. They are working for death. But....BUT!!!!!!! the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord!!!!!!!! What a gift. So it's your choice. Death? Or would you like a Holy do-over? Just ask. The Father is waiting for you.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
I Never Even Knew
I have to admit I have not always been the best fire wife. Just seemed like my husband was having the time of his life and getting paid for it while I was living like a single mom. With five kids, I can't even count the number of school functions I've attended alone and angry that he wasn't there. While he would talk about taking naps, jokes they played on each other, cooking and eating with the guys, playing basketball and watching movies, I was busy wiping noses and backsides, feeding finicky kids, and eating whatever I could scrape out of the bowls after the kids were done. So lonely for an adult conversation, I longed for even a telemarketer to call! (They probably put me on their own do not call list after I asked them how their kids were, where they were located, what the weather was like there and would they please call again tomorrow!)
Until recently I thought I was alone in feeling this way. Then I came across some other firefighter wives on twitter. Suddenly I discovered I'm normal! We all love our firefighter hero husbands. And most of us have resented their jobs at one point or another. But we are normal.
Realizing that my fireman may have some down time at work, during a 24 hour shift he definitely needs it. I know now how selfish I have been. I know he would have loved to have been able to spend more time with me and our kids. But he also saw things I didn't see. Like a fleet of cars we would need in order to get those kids to school and college in the future (which is actually now our present). While I got the bills from the mailbox, he knew that he had to get them paid. I, of course, often reminded him of those bills. Boy was I selfish. I should have been enjoying our time together. Instead I was making him miserable by bringing up the very reason he had to be away from us so much.
At the beginning of my husband's career, we visited him at work almost every shift. Carrying babies, dragging toddlers and preschoolers, off I'd go in the family truckster. We would unload and overtake the fire station. Little boys running everywhere and all wanting dad's attention. We all craved his attention. But since he had to work two jobs, we didn't get to see him much at all. In fact, one evening after a way too long time without dad, our middle son (3 1/2 years old at the time) was so excited to see dad that he tried to balance on the clothes basket where dad was putting away his dirty uniforms. Unfortunately he slipped off and broke his foot!
As years went by and kids got busier with sports and other school activities, the visits to the station greatly diminished. In fact, we would go months and months without going at all. Somehow I developed the idea that those guys didn't like us coming around anyway. In my mind I had deduced that they not only didn't want me around but that they even made fun of me behind my back and to their wives.
Then today. Today. We had some things to go over for the kids and hadn't had time so I went to the station. Hadn't even planned to go inside but my husband wanted us to sit down and discuss some college stuff our daughter needed us to take care of. Sitting at the dining table, we studied the information we had been given. He had to leave the room briefly so I walked around, looking at their huge aquarium that housed turtles (pretty sure there were some fish in there the last time I visited....guess the turtles had a snack) and other points of interest.
While perusing the notes on their fridge, something caught my eye. It was a newspaper article announcing our 25th wedding anniversary two months ago! There I was, on their fridge, staring back at myself! Absolutely blew my mind! When my husband returned to the room I asked him about it. He smiled and explained that these were posted in many of the fire stations all over town! I asked if they did that as a joke. He said they did not. That he had received congratulations after congratulations from co-workers. One station in particular had gone all out in congratulating him on our anniversary.
What did I learn from this? That I was wrong. Dead wrong. These guys really care about us. They care about our marriage. They care about our family. I never even knew. I never even thought it possible for that matter. But now I know. I'm smiling. Blessed and thankful.
Until recently I thought I was alone in feeling this way. Then I came across some other firefighter wives on twitter. Suddenly I discovered I'm normal! We all love our firefighter hero husbands. And most of us have resented their jobs at one point or another. But we are normal.
Realizing that my fireman may have some down time at work, during a 24 hour shift he definitely needs it. I know now how selfish I have been. I know he would have loved to have been able to spend more time with me and our kids. But he also saw things I didn't see. Like a fleet of cars we would need in order to get those kids to school and college in the future (which is actually now our present). While I got the bills from the mailbox, he knew that he had to get them paid. I, of course, often reminded him of those bills. Boy was I selfish. I should have been enjoying our time together. Instead I was making him miserable by bringing up the very reason he had to be away from us so much.
At the beginning of my husband's career, we visited him at work almost every shift. Carrying babies, dragging toddlers and preschoolers, off I'd go in the family truckster. We would unload and overtake the fire station. Little boys running everywhere and all wanting dad's attention. We all craved his attention. But since he had to work two jobs, we didn't get to see him much at all. In fact, one evening after a way too long time without dad, our middle son (3 1/2 years old at the time) was so excited to see dad that he tried to balance on the clothes basket where dad was putting away his dirty uniforms. Unfortunately he slipped off and broke his foot!
As years went by and kids got busier with sports and other school activities, the visits to the station greatly diminished. In fact, we would go months and months without going at all. Somehow I developed the idea that those guys didn't like us coming around anyway. In my mind I had deduced that they not only didn't want me around but that they even made fun of me behind my back and to their wives.
Then today. Today. We had some things to go over for the kids and hadn't had time so I went to the station. Hadn't even planned to go inside but my husband wanted us to sit down and discuss some college stuff our daughter needed us to take care of. Sitting at the dining table, we studied the information we had been given. He had to leave the room briefly so I walked around, looking at their huge aquarium that housed turtles (pretty sure there were some fish in there the last time I visited....guess the turtles had a snack) and other points of interest.
While perusing the notes on their fridge, something caught my eye. It was a newspaper article announcing our 25th wedding anniversary two months ago! There I was, on their fridge, staring back at myself! Absolutely blew my mind! When my husband returned to the room I asked him about it. He smiled and explained that these were posted in many of the fire stations all over town! I asked if they did that as a joke. He said they did not. That he had received congratulations after congratulations from co-workers. One station in particular had gone all out in congratulating him on our anniversary.
What did I learn from this? That I was wrong. Dead wrong. These guys really care about us. They care about our marriage. They care about our family. I never even knew. I never even thought it possible for that matter. But now I know. I'm smiling. Blessed and thankful.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
If It's Wrong, Forget It
Ever have anyone do something bad to you? Well that's a dumb question. Ever do something bad to someone else? Yeah, you know you have.
As humans, and if you're reading this I'm pretty sure you're just as human as I am, we tend to hang on to things other humans do that hurt us. Whether done out of spite, jealously, anger or even by accident, it seems there is a space on our personal hard drive we call a brain that is made especially to keep record of wrongs done to us.
I Corinthians 13 is often associated with romance. While the "love" chapter definitely relates to, well, love, as I've said before it's more about Jesus than we usually realize. Without Jesus we don't have love. Not real love anyway. Real love is described here. Let's take verses 4-5 for example. Love is patient and kind. It doesn't boast and isn't proud. It doesn't dishonor others or bring attention to itself. It's not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.
Wow. Love keeps NO record of wrongs. It doesn't say that love puts that bad stuff in the back of the mind to bring up later. It doesn't say love forgives only those who grovel and beg for forgiveness. Nor does it say love only forgives those it's married to or parent of or related to in some other way. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are to love. Period. Love. Love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:31) Love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and even pray for them.
Again, wow. In fact, big WOW. It's easy to forgive someone who sincerely asks and then never does anything hurtful again. It's easy to forgive when you're head over heels, mushy kind of in love with the sweetest person on earth. But forgiving someone who has wronged you. Someone who stays up at night trying to think of more ways to persecute you and generally make your life miserable. Oh sure. You could get mad and persecute them right back. Well you know you could. And you probably have. I know I have.
But to quote a popular saying from a couple of decades ago......what would Jesus do? Don't have to think long on that one. He would forgive. In fact, He already did. He gave absolutely everything He had. His dignity. His comfort. His blood. His life. Can I even come close to that? No. But He has been teaching me a huge part of love lately. Letting go. If it's wrong, forgetting it. And praying for those who hurt me. I don't know if they mean to or not. And that's really between them and God. I just know love doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. Whether it's from a friend or foe, love forgets it when wronged.
Love doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. Who are we to love? Our spouses, our families, our friends and even our enemies. Are there benefits? Oh sure. Sleeping better. Peace within. And smiling. So if it's wrong, forget it. That's what Jesus does. That's love.
As humans, and if you're reading this I'm pretty sure you're just as human as I am, we tend to hang on to things other humans do that hurt us. Whether done out of spite, jealously, anger or even by accident, it seems there is a space on our personal hard drive we call a brain that is made especially to keep record of wrongs done to us.
I Corinthians 13 is often associated with romance. While the "love" chapter definitely relates to, well, love, as I've said before it's more about Jesus than we usually realize. Without Jesus we don't have love. Not real love anyway. Real love is described here. Let's take verses 4-5 for example. Love is patient and kind. It doesn't boast and isn't proud. It doesn't dishonor others or bring attention to itself. It's not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.
Wow. Love keeps NO record of wrongs. It doesn't say that love puts that bad stuff in the back of the mind to bring up later. It doesn't say love forgives only those who grovel and beg for forgiveness. Nor does it say love only forgives those it's married to or parent of or related to in some other way. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are to love. Period. Love. Love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mark 12:31) Love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and even pray for them.
Again, wow. In fact, big WOW. It's easy to forgive someone who sincerely asks and then never does anything hurtful again. It's easy to forgive when you're head over heels, mushy kind of in love with the sweetest person on earth. But forgiving someone who has wronged you. Someone who stays up at night trying to think of more ways to persecute you and generally make your life miserable. Oh sure. You could get mad and persecute them right back. Well you know you could. And you probably have. I know I have.
But to quote a popular saying from a couple of decades ago......what would Jesus do? Don't have to think long on that one. He would forgive. In fact, He already did. He gave absolutely everything He had. His dignity. His comfort. His blood. His life. Can I even come close to that? No. But He has been teaching me a huge part of love lately. Letting go. If it's wrong, forgetting it. And praying for those who hurt me. I don't know if they mean to or not. And that's really between them and God. I just know love doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. Whether it's from a friend or foe, love forgets it when wronged.
Love doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. Who are we to love? Our spouses, our families, our friends and even our enemies. Are there benefits? Oh sure. Sleeping better. Peace within. And smiling. So if it's wrong, forget it. That's what Jesus does. That's love.
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