God's GREAT love!!

I was going through a bunch of old papers, and I ran across this little vingnette I wrote about nine years ago. I thought that some of you would be encouraged by reading it!

God's GREAT love!

What great love! I can’t even comprehend it. It goes beyond what my mind or my heart can fathom. It reaches to even the vilest part of my soul and yet still loves. It looks at me in my wickedness and my failure and tenderly wipes my tears. Who is this God that can love like this? That can look into the sin stained eyes of man and say with no apology, “I love you." Who can touch the very part of me I wouldn’t want anyone to see and dust it off with His mercy as though it were a thin layer of dirt that had hidden the true beauty beneath. What is this God about and why on earth would He care that way for me?

Oh, I know what you are about, and how I can see how much you care for this feeble frame you call man. Your heart burns with a passion for me that I cannot comprehend, and even though I cannot understand it, I can feel it. I can feel it when I look at my child sleeping and you remind me that he was in your heart long before you made him, and it was your handy work that formed every beautiful detail of his small frame. I can feel it when my husband looks at me with that special softness in his eyes, and when he embraces me, it’s as though your soft arms are wrapped around me saying, “I’m here. I’m here." I can feel it when I’m struggling and afraid, and your words come to my mind. It’s as though a blanket of peace and comfort cover my cold trembling body, and you whisper to me, “I’ll never leave you. I’ll never forsake you.”

You amaze me! There is truly none like you. Never has there been another like you and never will there ever be. You are magnificent, beautiful, kind, merciful, gracious, awesome, and Holy. You encompass these words and so many more. There are no words that can fully describe who you are, and yet even though you are all of these things, you still care for me. You are still touched when I fail. You are still there when I cry, and when I am afraid, you are there to comfort me.

Who is this God you might ask? This God is Jesus Christ, the son of the Most High God. The Great I Am, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace, the daddy to the orphaned and the husband to the widow, the binder of the brokenhearted, and the shelter from the cold. This is the God that loves me, and this is the God that loves you, too!

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Well, I know what most of you are thinking, and no, I’m not talking about Tina Turner! HaHa! As I was thinking and praying for our Valentine’s Day Outreach, I couldn’t help but think about the power of love in our lives.

When we’re “in love," we feel as though we can move mountains and nothing is impossible. When we’re hurting and feeling alone and someone reaches out with loving kindness, we feel like we can make it. Love is a funny thing. It’s what every human being pursues with relentless passion. What’s the all too familiar saying? “LOVE makes the world go round!"

I can’t help but think of scripture when I think about these things. 1 John 4: 7-12 says, “7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

I love these verses because it reminds me that in and of myself, it is impossible to love others the way that shows them Jesus is living in me. Vs. 12 says that no one has ever seen God. How is a world going to “see” God? They are going to “see” Him in us. When we love them without expecting anything in return, when we are kind while waiting in a long line at the grocery store, and when we keep silent when someone cops an attitude with us when we didn’t deserve it and our flesh wants to fight back yet we keep silent - that’s how they will “see” Him.

I have to be honest here when I say that apart from the power of Jesus in my life to restrain my tongue when someone is hateful or ugly, I couldn’t do it. Our flesh wants WAR! We want our way, in our time, for our purpose, and for our convenience! It’s only through our relationship with Jesus that we can remain humble and meek through the situations in life that challenge us, and that’s why loving the unlovely is soooo important. It shows them that there is a power in us that is not common in the ordinary person. That power is the power of God’s love!

As I think about the upcoming outreach, I couldn’t help but ask myself the tough question, “Am I loving others like Jesus?" Not just on Valentine’s Day but every day. We all are tested in different ways. As we go out, some of you may encounter only kind people who are grateful for your kindness to them. Others may encounter people who could care less that you bought a t-shirt, candy, flowers, etc. and are using your time in the streets of our community to share the love of Jesus! That’s when you have to ask yourself, “Am I loving like Jesus”? It’s sooo easy to love those who love you back! It’s when you encounter those who hurt you that your REAL motives and commitment to Jesus are tested.

So, what’s love got to do with it? EVERYTHING! It’s what the world is waiting to see as something REAL in our lives! When they see LOVE, they will “SEE” Jesus! God bless all of you, and know that I am praying for all of you who desire to show LOVE in your lives on Valentine’s Day and every other day!

Through the eyes of a child.

I have to share this sweet story with all of you.

We have a tradition in our family that our two sons work for $5.00 per person to buy a gift. They each will buy a $5.00 gift for Pete, their sibling, and one for me. We do this in order to teach them that if they want to give a gift to someone, it will cost them something to get the money to do it.

I usually go with Joshua to help him figure out his money, and Pete goes with Joseph. After Joshua bought his brother his gift, he wanted to get his daddy's gift. I asked him what he would like to buy his daddy, and he said, "I need to find the Jesus stuff." I asked him what he meant by "Jesus stuff." He said that he knew that what his daddy would love the most is something about Jesus. So I told him to ask a worker where he could find the "Jesus stuff." He found a young lady working in the sporting goods section and asked her where he could find some "Jesus stuff" for his daddy's gift. She smiled a big smile and asked what he meant by "Jesus stuff." He quickly responded, "Like books about Jesus, statues, and stuff." She smiled sweetly at him and pointed him to the inspirational book section.

I couldn't help but have a heart smile because of the thought that when Joshua thought about what his daddy loved the most, his thoughts couldn't help but go to JESUS. What a wonderful testimony to the life of his earthly father, and what a beautiful picture of life through the eyes of a child. I couldn't help but think to myself that at the end of it all will people be thinking of me that the thing I loved the most was the "Jesus stuff!"

What about you?

Is Christ the reason for Christmas?

I couldn't help but think today about all the clichés and sayings during Christmas. I read all these pithy little slogans on keeping Jesus in Christmas and the reason for the season, and I wonder why we constantly have to remind ourselves of this if Christmas is for Christ in the first place.

I had just a sick feeling today when I thought about what Christmas really means. I couldn't help but think that if Christmas is REALLY about Jesus and celebrating His birth and who He was, then why in the world do we focus so much of our time, energy, and money on others around us that already know all of this. I wondered why did I buy all the gifts I did and gave them to the people that I love that already know all about Jesus and have opportunities to experience His blessings all year long.

I was convicted in my heart because I should have taken all of my time, energy, and money and gone out into our community and SHOWED Jesus to those who may not have a REAL picture of what Jesus is all about. I'm not saying that buying presents for our loved ones during Christmas is wrong, but what I am saying is that I was convicted about the amount of time that I spent on those around me compared to the time and effort and thought that I put in to those who may not really know Him.

I was out yesterday with a few friends. We went to a restaurant where we gave the young waitress a gift with some scripture on it, and she was taken aback by the gesture. She told us of her current struggles, and we prayed for her and told her that we would be praying for her. I couldn't help but leave that restaurant with a sense of joy because I couldn't help but think that if Jesus were here today, that's what Christmas would be about for Him. He would go to the least of these and give of Himself and all that He had.

I'm asking God to forgive me for missing so many things that I could have done this Christmas and asking Him to help me in the coming year to have my eyes wide open to opportunities that He opens for me. I pray for myself and all the followers of Jesus that we will wake up before time runs out and we miss the opportunities to be light in a dark world.

What's in a dream?

Have you ever had a dream where you woke up, and you’re emotionally disturbed by what you saw and moved by what you dreamt?

Well, last night I had one of those kinds of dreams. My dream was really long - so I won’t bore you with it -but it gave me a view of this world and what’s going on and what’s to come. When I woke up, I was emotionally disturbed and moved by the thought that this world is falling apart, and time is running out for us to be sharing the gospel with those we come in contact with. I wonder how long we really do have before this world passes away.

Regardless of your view on the end times, Pre-tribulation, Mid-tribulation, or Post-tribulation, I think that we can all agree that the signs of the times are more in place now than they have ever been. Even though I don’t really put much stock in the dreams I have, never knowing if it was bad pizza or not, I do have to say that God used that dream to shake me up a bit. I was reminded that time is running out on sharing the gospel with those I love and those whom God brings to my path. Being in Israel this year and seeing with my own eyes the Valley of Armageddon really was a sobering experience. I don’t want to ever forget that my time is limited here, and the opportunities I have are limited and short. I want to live my life with eternity in constant view, and God forgive me for the times that I don’t.

A Miracle Working God!

I was emailing our children’s director today about Joshua, and I couldn’t help but be amazed at what God has done in his life. To look at Joshua today, you wouldn’t be able to really tell that he had anything wrong or that he struggled in any way.

I don’t know if most of you know but Joshua was diagnosed with SIDDS when he was three and a half years old. SIDDS stands for Sensory Integration Dysfunction Disorder. It’s where the brain has problems knowing what to do when multiple senses would come at him at one time. For example, it took Joshua a long time before he could eat multiple textured foods because his brain would get confused with the multiple textures, and it wouldn’t be able to tell his tongue what to do in order to swallow. I had to pull my car over to the side of the road several times while driving in order to do a finger sweep on him to help him because he was choking. He wasn't able to drink water until he was 5 because he would choke due to the water not having any taste or texture. I can remember those potty training days and how I would have to train him in complete darkness because the sensation of having to go potty and the cold toilet on his little bottom and the bright lights of the bathroom where too much for him to handle at one time. He would sit there and say, “I’m occupied, I’m occupied!” Haha! We never really figured out what he meant by that! :) I can remember Pete carrying him in the back yard and having to put him down on the grass to walk without his shoes on and him screaming like he was on fire because the coldness of the grass and the texture of it completely overwhelmed him. I remember his obsession with licking new things. I never really figured out why he would do that, but when he would have a new thing he would lick it. :) Or, the extremely traumatic time we had to get his blood drawn when he was 5, and he kept screaming,” NO! NO! Don’t take my peanuts!!" I thought that the lab tech was going to fall over from laughing! She said that in all her years of drawing blood, she never heard that one! Haha! We did finally figure out, a few years later, what he meant by that. He told me that the little viles that they put your blood in looks like the shape of peanuts. :) Haha! Oh, and I almost forgot. When we did get him diagnosed at three and a half years old, we couldn't understand 90 percent of anything he said. He talked, what we called, Chinese. It was a mix of the sound of a deaf person and the Chinese language. My sweet Joseph memorized what some of the sounds meant and would “interpret” for us. God knew what he was doing when he gave Joshua such an AWESOME big brother. Joseph looks out for and adores his little brother.

Anyway, there are MANY other stories I can share with you, but I say all of these things to say that God works miracles. I remember crying when we found out about him having SIDS and asking myself how in the world will he have a “normal” life with this.

Well, God has been so faithful! Joshua will always have SIDDS, but God is good and has helped him to learn coping skills in order to deal with the multi-sensory problems. Do we serve a miracle working God? YES! My little Joshua is a BRIGHT picture of what an ALL-POWERFUL God can do with the life of one of His precious children! Thank you Jesus that you are and always will be in the business of working miracles and making your glory known among your people, and thank you for helping little Joshua to become all that you have planned for him to be!

I love you Joshua, and mommy is so proud of you for working so hard to be all that you can be!

What's in a name?

I was reading today about Isaiah's sons and how their names meant something in regards to his prophesy to the nation. As I thought about that, I had to laugh. Pete and I deliberately named our boys with the meaning of their names in mind.

Joseph is our first born, and his name is Joseph Aidan. Joseph means, “The Lord shall add,” and Aidan, we thought, meant, “warmth to the home." As I’ve been looking it up, I’ve come to find out that Aidan means, “a little fire." So his name means, “The Lord shall add a little fire!"

I had to laugh when I figured this out because in my mind his name was suppose to be a picture of a nice quiet little fellow, and our family would be one of those little Kodak moment pictures. Haha! God has great sense of humor!

Well, my little Joe is not quiet nor is he the little bit of warmth I thought I was getting! Haha! Instead, he IS my little FIRE! You know why this is so significant to me. It’s because as much as I would complain to God about him being too loud or too hard headed or too boisterous, the one thing that I realized was that he was what I needed in my life. Just as fire is put to gold or silver to refine it, so is fire applied to our lives to bring up the things in our lives that don’t look like Jesus.

God uses our children to turn the fire up and what comes to the surface of our lives is often in need of some refining from the Master Himself. I would often ask God why Joseph was not the quiet little fellow I imagined him to be, and God has told me, it’s because there were and still are some things in “Wendy” that needs a little Joseph to help her be more like Jesus.

So, I’m trying now, on the days when I find myself losing my temper and being short with him or not having patience or not being compassionate, to remember that God OFTEN uses our own children to bring up the stuff hiding under the surface so He can apply the fire and purify it! Thank you Jesus for my sweet Joseph and how you have used him in my life to help me be more like you and how you are working some awesome things in his life to make yourself known to him!