The Great Exchange

I would exchange my life in a heartbeat for his! My precious 1 day old grandbaby boy!

His mommy’s uterus ruptured and he was delivered into her abdomen where he struggled for too many minutes without oxygen. Once flown 200 miles away to the NICU nursery, we were told by the neurosurgeon that the flat lines on the EEG “worried” him.

I knew right then and there as I watched my grandbaby fighting for his life that I would gladly give him anything he needed for survival!!

My kidneys? Take them! Liver? Lungs? Take them and while you are at it take my heart and my brain and give them to little Micah so he can live!! It would be a sacrifice I would more than gladly make!

But instead I had to helplessly stand by and watch as he lost the fight after 5 short days.

This heart-wrenching experience has given me a whole new perspective on Jesus’ great sacrifice for me!

I would have done anything to trade my life for Micah’s but I didn’t have the ability.

But Jesus! He could exchange His life for mine. And He did! He gave up His life so I could have life eternal! His blood poured out onto the ground so I could live! He bore my sin and shame on that cross so I could be clean and righteous!

He did this because of His immense love for me! He looked down and saw…ME! My sin and eternal life in darkness broke His heart. He was moved to action and made the sacrifice of His life so I could live!

I understand this now like never before.

Jesus loves me. It’s why He made the great exchange…His life for mine.

Will you accept the exchange He would like to make with you? He already made the sacrifice…all you need to do is except His free gift of life.

God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent His own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Romans 8:3

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

 

Goldendoodle Wisdom

I want to emulate my Goldendoodle, Chewie (short for Chewbacca). Heart heart heart!

He has unconditional love…always. He greets us EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. the same way. First, he barks because he is kind of a ding dong and is trying to protect his beloved family. But once our ditzy Goldendoodle realizes it’s us, even though we have abandoned him all day long and might have yelled at him as we were leaving, all is forgotten as he runs to the door and begins jumping for joy, kissing us repeatedly.

He is affectionate…always! While we are watching TV, he will come up behind us and literally give us a hug with his big ole lanky front legs and rest his head on our shoulder. Or squeeze up next to us on the couch, lay his head on our lap and hold our hand with his furry paw.

He is fun…always! He is never too tired to play. He never turns down a chance to go for a walk or run with one of us. Every object is a toy. And going outside never gets old! Like it’s his first outdoor experience…each and every time…he is full of wonder and bounces around like a calf put out to pasture.  

He is happy…always! He adds life to the space he is in. I’ve never seen him mope, or act sad and dejected. He walks with a skip in his step, excited about life and in love with his people.

We’ve neglected him, disciplined him too harshly, rejected his love…

He’s pooped in the house, eaten Tucker’s sandwich, chewed up earbuds…

And yet he holds no grudges, has no regrets and has no shame.  

Lord, help me to be like that! I want to be fun and love people well. Forgive quickly. Get over my stupid mistakes. And see the joy in every moment.

This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

But as for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2

 

When Suffering Leaves its Mark

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

As I was writing this post, 12:55 am…Micah is Dancing With Jesus, I felt as though someone was pressing as hard as they could into my chest with a red-hot branding iron. The very next day I heard a sermon entitled, “What’s Your Favorite Brand?” (Mark Kirk) I was blown away!

He said that a fiery trial is very much like receiving a brand. Our hardships are painful but purposeful!

Photo Credit Jill Williams Cook

A brand takes 5-10 seconds but is excruciating and feels like the end has come. When you think of the life of an animal … 5-10 seconds is nothing. But it leaves an indelible mark that lasts a lifetime.

The same is true with a fiery trial. Even if our fiery trial lasts a lifetime…it is nothing when we compare it to eternity with Christ!

A brand shows that this animal has been set apart from the herd, marked with ownership. When we are branded by suffering and trust Christ through it, it leaves an undeniable mark that shows God’s glory on us and that we are His.

Photo Credit Jill Williams Cook

 

Trials brand us with the character of Christ. Through the hardest, most painful things in life, He marks us as His own with:

HOPE … PEACE … JOY… CHARACTER … LOVE!

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

 

My 2016 Word

Have you been praying for a word that would represent what God would like to speak over your life for 2016?

For several weeks I have been praying for one from the Lord that would sort of capture 2016 and His will for me. He finally gave it to me a few nights ago!

Rest.

Right before bed, the Lord gave me the word “rest” while I was doing my regular, every day reading through the Bible. I love how He can interrupt the “mundane” and speak so powerfully into our lives!

“So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today” (Hebrews 4:7).

What?! Rest?! I don’t have time for­ that.  But God has so much better for me than I could ever choose for myself!! He has only good for me! And rest is on His list of gifts He so desires to give me. Will I accept it? Will I accept Him?

This is a little bit of a crazy time! LOTS of great changes for me and a few scary moments with Leah’s pregnancy have made me feel a bit overwhelmed.

I feel like the Lord is saying…”Enter into My rest. I’ve got this. Enjoy every minute. Rest in Me. No rushing or fretting. Just rest.”

I don’t want to miss one exciting second of the here and now fretting over what might or might not happen in the future.  I want the rest He has for my soul!

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls”  (Jeremiah 6:16).

He is saying, “You’ve asked me…Now trust Me. Obey Me. Rest in Me.”

Thank You, Jesus! I choose You! I choose to snuggle up and rest on Your chest! I choose to enjoy every moment of this crazy, wonderful adventure you have me on!

Jesus longs to give you the same thing. Himself. Will you choose this amazing gift of rest that only He can provide?

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

 

 

Happy Birthday, Micah!

My sweet grandbaby, Micah Lee Fahrlender! Today you would have turned one.

Every fiber of my being misses you.

There’s a new baby growing inside that uterus that ripped wide open and spilled you out. Fear could terrorize my heart for your precious little brother or sister inside that womb and for your mommy that almost lost her life.

But God! He has made me His child. I am no longer a slave to fear.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

Slaves have no choice! They must do as they are told. They are controlled…often by chains and whips. Children, on the other hand, are tenderly loved, taught and disciplined to truly enjoy freedom.

Fear is not my master. I am God’s child. He has taken my life that used to be governed by fear and has delivered me into His family and into freedom.

As with anything dark and daunting that looms over our life, we have a choice.

Will we allow our minds to dwell on the future and worst case scenarios? Or will we take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and live a life of thanksgiving? Worry can’t change the past or change the future. It just ruins today.

We can choose to trust our Father and release all our fears to Him knowing that He is faithful and trustworthy. Or we can cling to anxiety and make it our slave-master.

When we worry, we are not factoring in the grace God will provide or the ways He will miraculously work and move.

We are continually throwing insults at God when we allow fear to rule our hearts and minds. We are going over and over how weak, inept and untrustworthy we perceive Him to be.  I want nothing to do with that!!

I know from my relationship with Him in the past that He is my hero God (El Gibbor). He is fighting for me and He is trustworthy!

I have no idea how everything will turn out. All I know is that I am choosing to trust my Abba, Father.

We do not trust in horses or chariots/modern medicine. We trust in the name of the Lord our God.

You will never be replaced, Micah. A day will never go by that I won’t think about you. But what joy fills my heart to see your new brother or sister swimming around inside your mommy. I can’t wait for the day I get to hold him and kiss him. He will remind me of you and how much we love and miss you. He is truly a gift from God… just like you!

Happy birthday, Micah!  How thankful I am for the 5 days I got to spend with you! Please give Jesus a great big hug for me! I can’t wait for the day I see you both face to face!

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

 This Bethel song has been my anthem!!

12:55 am…Micah is Dancing With Jesus :)

12:55 am…Micah is dancing with Jesus : )

After 5 agonizing days of watching her baby on every machine imaginable…

After 5 days of crying out to the Lord for a miracle…

After 5 hours of holding her precious baby boy on her chest as his breathing became more and more shallow…

She sent out this text.

12:55 am…Micah is dancing with Jesus : )

When my mom said she wanted those words about our grandson on a plaque, I thought she was crazy! I couldn’t bear to see them every day. Those words burned deep into my chest like a red-hot branding iron!

But my mom explained the joy and hope that text held for us. We get to spend eternity together with Christ as a family!

My mom also said, “That night she used a smiley face with her announcement… that so spoke to me… she felt God’s comfort… she KNEW truth and rejoiced in it despite the fact that she was experiencing the greatest pain and sorrow a mother’s heart could ever know. To know daily that Micah is happy and full of comfort relieves the agony of heart I have because of my great loss.”

Leah wasn’t full of despair or desperation. She reminded us of our greatest hope. We grieve, but not in the same way as those who have no hope.  That absolute hope encourages us and sustains us!

All is not lost. We will see our handsome little Micah again!

I’ve heard it said, Character is not made in crisis, it is only exhibited.

Leah’s character was surely exhibited…In the midst of her agonizing heartbreak, she blessed us all with the true joy and hope embedded deep inside her.

12:55 am…Micah is dancing with Jesus : )

I now have these precious words hanging in my kitchen. They will be forever branded on my heart!

Every time I see them, I am reminded that no circumstance can steal the Hope and Joy the Lord is to me! I can’t wait for the day I get to see Jesus face to face! And my sweet little Micah Lee!!

A Heart Woven Together with Love

How does a girl choose to do life after her heart explodes into a thousand pieces?

She could choose to become self-consumed and irreconcilable. She could choose to alienate herself from the ones who love her. She could choose depression, anger and bitterness.

Or…

She could CHOOSE to live.

She could choose to learn something new…to be creative. She could choose to share her tear-splattered creations with others whose hearts have also exploded.

Three short months after the heart-wrenching death of Micah Lee, her precious 6 lbs., 13 oz. baby boy, Leah has learned to crochet! Already, she has crocheted an adorable beanie for her two year old, and awesome slippers for me and her sister. Now she is working on the most amazing pair of “converse” slippers for a hurting teenager whose world is spinning out of control.

When you have nothing to give, but you love Jesus…you give Him! She is choosing to give her Jesus!!

Yes, grief still pulls her out of deep sleep in the middle of the night. Yes, she sobs for Micah in the morning when she wakes up. Yes, she thinks about him every waking moment. Yes, her eyes fill with tears uncontrollably by numerous reminders throughout the day. Yes, she knows she will never hear his first laugh or see him take his first steps.

But she is deciding to continue to love and to be present in the land of the living.

The world can go ahead and explode. Just give me that — Let the name of Jesus be written so deep into me that my heart could explode and His name would be found on every shard. Ann Voskamp

I see Jesus written on every beautiful shard!

As she sits and stitches these loving gifts for others, God is stitching together a sweet gift for her. Her heart.

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes. Isaiah 58:10-12

God knows the formula for healing and wholeness. Leah is walking in it.

Leah! You amaze me!! You bless me!! You are so much like my sweet Jesus!

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1000 Thank You’s

There I was! A Wednesday night and sitting on a plane? My head was spinning as I flew over the sea of clouds into the sunset! In a fog, I wrote down my thank you’s to Jesus in my journal.

850… 851…

My goal was 1000 in 2014. Three a day and voila! A whole mindset change! God has used Ann Voskamp in such a powerful way in my life to encourage me to be intentional about counting my blessings!

Earlier that day I had received several frantic phone calls. Something went terribly wrong with the birth of my grandbaby. “Leah might not make it.” … “They have flown baby Micah to the neonatal intensive care unit!” I’m yelling in my little office for the whole building to hear, “What?!! What are you saying?!!!!!! What do you mean?!!!!”

I couldn’t wrap my mind around what was being said…the words were making no sense!

2000 miles away, I sat helpless on the other end of the line.
After arriving late that night, I was able to spend the next five days taking in little Micah Lee. My beautiful, perfect-in-every-way baby boy. Perfect-in-every-way…except…for his brain. It had been starved of oxygen for 40 short minutes. An eternity.
We loved him, kissed him, held him and then said good-bye to him. He went to dance in the arms of his sweet Jesus.

I can’t open my thankful journal again.

I will whisper, “Thank you, Jesus, for Leah’s life,” as I wake up.

I will whisper, “Thank you, Jesus, for working all of this together for good,” as I go to sleep.

I will whisper thank you’s to Jesus throughout the day.

But I will not…I cannot pick up that journal.

A few weeks later, my son and I were reading Psalm 50 before bed. I read the words, “I know every Bird (my nickname) on the mountain…make thankfulness your sacrifice to God.” And then, “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me.”

The next morning as we got away, just me and Jesus for our morning coffee, He quietly reminded me of those verses. He tenderly spoke to my heart that my sacrifice of thanksgiving was precious to Him.

I cried.

And then I said, “Yes, Jesus. I will do what you are asking me to do.”

852…

Studies have shown that journaling gratitude can make us 25% happier, helps us sleep better, makes us feel more satisfied, increases our goodwill towards others, have fewer health complaints, helps marriages thrive and can actually help clinical depression! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ocean-robbins/having-gratitude-_b_1073105.html

God never asks us to do arbitrary tasks just to keep us busy or to sap all the fun out of life. He is the giver of abundant life and deep, everlasting joy. He knows best how to bestow these amazing gifts upon His beloved!

Now that I took that step of obedience, I am able to thumb through my thankful journal and enjoy all the wonderful, documented memories.

As I was doing this the other night, I was stunned to see how I began my journal one year ago. Psalm 50!

I was hit square in the face with God’s gentleness and loving kindness! He doesn’t grow tired of us or mind saying the same thing over and over and over. He says it just as tenderly the 100th time as He did the first time.

It is His kindness that leads us to repentance. Romans 2:4

He has truly made me fall in love with Him… all over again.

Thank you, Jesus!

Grieve with Grace

Something that is so soothing and comforting to one person, cuts to the deep and is like salt in the wound to someone else.

We have been created so differently and so uniquely! Let’s extend grace to each other!! Let’s give each other a break!

Some things I have learned through my time of mourning:

• People will say things that are offensive and hurtful–forgive them.

• People will not acknowledge our pain–forgive them.

• We can become very self-absorbed in our grief, thinking nothing else matters–It’s not true! Everyone else in the world is dealing with their own set of issues. Give of yourself to others…even in your mourning.

• Since God didn’t answer our prayers the way we wanted Him to, we may be tempted to quit praying because it didn’t seem to make a difference anyway–pray, pray, pray!

When we are in the fog of grieving the worst loss we have ever experienced, it is so difficult to imagine that we also have to forgive those around us! But if we hold on to that unforgiveness, it will only cause our pain to worsen and delay our healing.

The people that we forgive are completely oblivious to what they have done to us…they only did what they thought was most helpful. Ha! It wasn’t! :p Chances are, though, that we are overly sensitive because we are in such a vulnerable state. If we hold on to that resentment, we will only hurt ourselves and the innocent ones around us.

Jesus, during His darkest time of betrayal, even while being ruthlessly murdered! …walked in forgiveness and love, continually thought of others and persisted in prayer!

With nails driven into His hands, He made sure His mom would be taken care of after He died. While being mocked and bleeding to death, He looked up to heaven and prayed that His Father would forgive the very ones killing Him. While gasping for air, He lovingly listened to the thief next to Him, forgave all his sins and ushered him into paradise with Him when he died! While dying an excruciating death, He thought of…ME! And even though I have sinned so hideously against Him…He forgave me!

We need to follow His example and walk out our darkest time with grace!

Lord, thank You for showing me how I can honor You in my time of deep sorrow.

Fill me with Your grace, love and strength so I can imitate You!!

Who You Are

“I’m not waiting anymore…hand me a scalpel.”

These were the last words my daughter heard before she passed out.

At that point she had no idea that she was in danger of losing her life and that her precious baby boy, Micah, would only live for five days.

They had prayed and thought long and hard for just the right name for this little life growing inside her and finally knew that his name should be Micah, “Who is like God?”

The verse the Lord gave them for Micah paints a beautiful picture of who God is. He is like no other!

As she began to come to consciousness after the C-section and repair of her ruptured uterus, she woke up to the words of this Kristian Stanfill song in her heart…

Who You Are

Your glory speaks in every language
Across the sky to every nation
You are beauty unimagined
This is who you are

You are the Lord of my salvation
You are the one who lights my way
Through the dark night You will lead me
This is who you are

Lift it up,Lift it up
Endless praises to our God
Full of grace, Full of love
And He’s reigning over us
I know You are faithful
You are worthy, God
This is who you are

Day and night
The angels singing
Holy, Holy is the Lord
There’s none more worthy to receive it
This is who you are

You hear the cry of every broken heart
You give the hopeless soul a brand new start
You lead the captive in Your freedom song
This is who you are

And in the night when all our hope is lost
You are the one who won’t give up on us
You hold the orphan in your loving arms
This is who you are
I know this is who You are
I believe this is who You are

I know You are faithful
You are worthy, God
This is who you are

Leah set this song as her alarm. She would rest a few hours and then, “Who You Are” would wake her up so she could go spend time with her baby boy for as long as she was physically able.

We would play this song and hold Micah’s hand and kiss his sweet little cheeks. Taking him in, tattooing every one of his sweet little features onto our hearts until he took his final breath.

What a sweet reminder of what God is like and who He is in the midst of such deep sadness and sorrow.

This experience has shaken me to the very foundation of my faith.

But I can confidently and boldly say in the midst of pain and unanswered questions…He is good and I trust Him!

Every word of this song is true!

The Moon and Me

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/reitstoen/4585883/

Early one morning I was running right toward the beautiful moon as it was hanging, just a tiny bright sliver in the sky. The Lord began to speak to my heart. We are so much like that moon! Not only does the moon reflect the sun’s light, it has great purpose!

Its gravitational force causes the tides, cleansing our oceans! It has such a faithful rotation around the earth that we can set our calendar by it. The farmer knows when to plant by the faithfulness of the moon’s orbit. Although it has no light of its own…it lights up its neighbor’s dark night! (That’s us! 😉 )

We as Christians not only reflect God’s glory but we have meaningful purpose! We are not an accident or a random animal that evolved. We were lovingly created and designed for a wonderful purpose planned specifically for this generation and specifically for us! For we are God’s masterpiece.He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

His purposes for us are so much bigger and better and have so much more meaning and significance than we could ever plan for ourselves! Now glory to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. Ephesians 3:20

Sometimes God’s purpose for us means stepping out of our comfort zone. It might even mean great sacrifice, loss of financial security or even putting our physical well-being at risk, but oh how great the eternal reward will be to live out our purpose and design!

We have no idea how many lives could be changed forever if we would step out in obedience.

We are to shine His light in dark places…making our joy and the joy of those around us complete!

How amazing to be a part of God’s awesome plan!! WOW!!!! I am so humbled and so honored that God Almighty would allow His beloved to share in His glory!

But we have a choice! If we choose not to walk in our purpose, there will be loss…a missing piece to the puzzle. But what joy and fullness when we decide to walk in His ways! To reflect His glory and live out His purpose for our lives!

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers–the moon and the stars you have set in place–What are mere mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us? For you made us only a little lower than God, and you crowned us with glory and honor and dignity. You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things–the sheep and the cattle and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth! Psalm 8:3-9

Thank You!

My 10 month old granddaughter, Bailey, always greets me with a huge smile and laugh. Her face just lights up when she sees me and has even said, “Hi, Nana!” which of course was such a surprise and melted my heart!

Yesterday, when I met my daughter and my three grandchildren at the dentist, I excitedly and lovingly exclaimed, “Bailey!!” reaching out my hands towards her. She gave me a blank stare and turned away from me, toward the playroom. I felt so rejected and totally deflated. Then my daughter tried to kiss her and she squirmed and pushed her away…she had bigger, better things to do than waste her precious time on her doting mommy and Nana! The two of us just laughed! What a stinker!

As I thought about this later, it made me smile…thinking about how much I love her and how glad I am that she is healthy and getting curious about the colorful things going on around her.

We are like this with God so often. We have so many exciting, new blessings in our life, a season of bounty. When God reaches out to us, we turn away. We’re in a good place. Somewhere along the way we’ve stopped delighting in Him. We’ve stopped…needing Him.

God doesn’t get easily offended or write us off. He is loving and kind! He knows us inside and out and knows how easily we can get distracted. We bring a smile to His face. He loves this place of rest that He has brought us to and loves it that we are enjoying the blessings He has showered onto us.

But even so…I want to be intentional about my relationship with God. I want to be like the one healed leper who turned around, fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him for what He had done.  I do NOT want to be like the other nine who only sought Christ in their sickness and ignored Him in their wellness!!

So in the midst of this blessed season, when Jesus holds out His arms to me and lovingly says my name…I want to run into His arms, look Him in the eyes and say, “Thank you, Jesus! Come on…Let’s go play!”     

You Just Might Be A Runner…

When you are on your running app more than you are on Facebook.

When anything between 10 degrees and 125 degrees is perfect weather for running outside.

When you enter a store, workout clothes feel like they have a gravitational pull that you can hardly resist. Hmmm…Speaking of which…I wonder what the new line of Asics looks like?!!!

When you burn with envy if you see someone out running!

When you get up in the middle of the night and you think, “Ouch, ouch, owie, ouch…” with each step you take.

When meeting someone new and finding out they run, having a two hour non-stop conversation exchanging your running stories…Besties!!

When the most expensive clothing item in your closet are your running shoes!

When you wonder what to do with all those awesome running shoes that look brand new, but you know the mileage they’ve run and that they died long ago.

When you collect race bibs.

When injured, your first question to the Doctor is, “When will I be able to run again?” Ha! That’s the only thing that matters, right?!!

When going on vacation means gorgeous views on new running trails!

When your running partner is Jesus and you experience breath-taking sunrises, sunsets, beautiful stormy skies and awesome rainbows together.

When it’s your quiet time, worship time, prayer time. A time of renewal, of revival, of rejuvenation…

You just might be a runner!

The God Formula

This is what Wikipedia had to say about this equation:

“The classical vacuum is again at the minimum of the potential, where the magnitude of the complex field φ is equal to Φ. But now the phase of the field is arbitrary, because gauge transformations change it. This means that the field θ(x) can be set to zero by a gauge transformation, and does not represent any actual degrees of freedom at all.”

Huh?!!!!! The only things I understood were vacuum, arbitrary and no freedom. :p

Ha! Believe it or not this is EXACTLY what God spoke to me while in prayer! We have these impossible equations in our lives. They make no sense whatsoever! When we fret and anxiously try to figure out every possible solution, we are leaving out the God component.

I don’t remember much about my college algebra days, but one thing I remember is that you do everything in the parenthesis first and then multiply that answer to the what’s next to it. 2(2+1)=2×3=6

So in my prayer time, God spoke that He is the One in parenthesis in my crazy-no-way-to-figure-this-out equation.

So wouldn’t…

change everything?

Now there is no vacuum. Nothing arbitrary. Absolute freedom!!!!

God changes it all! We have no way of factoring how and when He will move. But we can trust Him in the now…in the confusion…when none of it makes sense…that He has a solution that will bring Him glory and will work together for our good.

So when it comes to our “equation,” let’s choose to not allow fear, anxiety, bitterness, doubt, etc. to come between us and our parenthesis, (God!).

Could that be what resting in the shadow of the Almighty means? Resting in the “parenthesis” of His two wings!!

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.  He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day,  nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.  Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.  But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.  If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,  no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling.  For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go.  They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.  You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!  The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them.  I will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvation.” Psalm 91

Pearls or Barbs?

As I was praying the other day for my girls and their marriages the Lord gave me a picture of the choice my girls continually have before them.

Their seemingly insignificant actions, kind or rude, are like:

Adding a pearl, one by one to a strand of a delicate pearl necklace…beautifully adorning her.

or…

Adding a barb, one by one to a strand of a barbed wire fence…sharply surrounding her.

One action causes her husband to feel loved and respected and endears her to him, amplifying her beauty. The other, as he reaches for her, creates a painful barrier between them causing more and more distance, sapping the intimacy from their relationship and diminishing her beauty.

Actions, tones, and words can be a soothing balm or a shooting dart.

Which will we choose?

You have ravished my heart, my treasure, my bride. I am overcome by one glance of your eyes, by one jewel of your necklace. Song of Songs 4:9

Mud Run…So Much Like Life

I just ran a 5K Marine Mud Run and it reminded me so much of life!

Sometimes we are just running along a beautiful, sunny, green, flat path. Passing people left and right as we politely say, “Excuse me,” and under our breath, “Haha, loser!”  Life is going our way!

Turn a corner and boom! All of a sudden there is a torrential downpour and an impossible obstacle. I jumped and jumped and kept falling into the mud as a stampede of people passed me by like a heard of graceful gazelles leaping over the hurdle with ease. Errrr! Finally, I just cried out, “Can you help me?” This big arm came down and swooped me up! From then on I was dragged over every obstacle like a ragdoll.

How much like life! There are times when we are the big arm swooping down and helping others. (That’s much nicer than passing them by full of pride! :p ) But at times we have to ask for help. People cannot read our minds. We have to ask. We are the body of Christ and we need each other. My teammates could have run on ahead independent of each other. Our individual times would have been better but we would have missed out on the fellowship and sharing in the journey. Because of self-sacrifice and working together, we placed higher in the team division and shared so much joy.

Let’s not leave each other behind in life when things are going our way. We need to be mindful of the needs of others, working hard at not leading self-centered lives! Self-centeredness is a thief! It robs us of joy and fellowship with others in this adventure of life!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:5-7

Desert Bride

Desert Bride

Song of Solomon 3 describes a bridegroom smelling of myrrh and frankincense, sweeping in from the desert in a magnificent carriage toward his beloved. The carriage has posts of silver, a canopy of gold, and a seat upholstered in purple fabric. The interior is paved with love!

It is surrounded with 60 mighty warriors! Each man of valor is an expert in war and wears a sword on his thigh as they escort the groom through the wilderness…being on extra alert against attack at night!

As we journey through this life (so much like a desert at times), heading toward the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, God has promised to protect us and never leave us. The God of angel armies has surrounded us with a mighty force of protection, ready at any moment to battle off any attackers…especially during our vulnerable, dark times.

Simultaneously, our Mighty Warrior God treats His bride so tenderly! He has taken every opportunity to lavish extravagant gifts upon us as we journey through this wilderness. With thoughts of immense love toward us, He has handcrafted a custom-made bridal carriage/salvation for each one of us lined with gold (Glory of God, holiness, purification), silver (redemption, truth, strength) and purple fabric (authority, royalty).

Frankincense and myrrh?!!!! How neat is that!! When we should be smelling all hot and sweaty from the heat of life’s trials and tribulations, Jesus surrounds us and fills us with Himself causing His sweet aroma to emanate from us!

The Lord of heavens armies will hover over (Andrea) and protect her like a bird protecting its nest. He will defend and save (Andrea); He will pass over her and rescue her. Isaiah 31:5 Put your name in the parentheses. : )

He has our back! He’s walking us through this! And wow! What an amazing future we have to look forward to…here on this earth and BEYOND!! : )

Man Your Post

Like that old Southwest Airline commercial used to say …”Wanna get away?” Ha! Doesn’t it feel like that so often?!! Right now just doesn’t seem to hold any significance, BUT the next thing…Wow! That is going to be amazing!! Or our past taunts us of the better days we’ve seen. Or past failure can haunt and disable us in the here and now.

My most recent word from the Lord is the military term, “Man Your Post!”  This is present tense…not future or past but present!

Each “post” God gives us needs to be manned with all our might. We need to be alert and give 100% right where we are. People’s eternities are at stake and God has placed us in a strategic place at a strategic time for His purposes. There are many lives and even generations that will be affected by how we choose to man our post!  

Posts vary. At times our post may be sunny and full of fellowship at the gate of the camp. A great, rewarding post! But sometimes we have to man the midnight post … alone. It’s scary, long and exhausting! Not a lot of accolades. But there is purpose in this post! God desires to use us in a powerful way that we may never completely understand.

Often we feel we are called to much grandeur things … but in obedience to Christ, we need to be thankful and content right where God has placed us.

May our posts never go unmanned, allowing the enemy to sneak in and ravage the ones we were sent to watch over. Let’s choose to allow Him to use us fully, even if it seems like our post holds little to no value.

Who knows!! One day we might look back and these will be the good ole days!

• Whether it’s changing diapers and wiping snotty noses…Man Your Post!
• If it’s taking care of your elderly parent…Man Your Post!
• Walking through a terminal illness…Man Your Post!
• Working a “mundane” job…Man your Post!
• Single…married…Man Your Post!
• Enjoying your golden years…Man Your Post!

And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward, It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:17

I’m Falling! A Promise? No! I Need a Parachute … please?

Sometimes in life it feels like we are free-falling … with no parachute!

Who knows what our future will hold?!! Good and bad for sure! Last night I felt myself getting extremely anxious about the unknown. What will happen? Cancer? One of my children dying? A granchild born with a serious health issue?  Will I be alone the rest of my life? There may be some awesome things, too, like winning the lottery! Although, since I never play, that is highly unlikely. So I began to dwell on the horrible things more likely to happen :p

As I began to pray about these fears that were overtaking me, I saw a picture of myself free-falling with no hope of survival. I was falling faster and faster. It’s all good during the free-falling part, right?! There is a breath taking view and such an invigorating sense of freedom. But I knew this sweet spot wouldn’t last forever! The landing would not be so pleasant! The fear of the future was robbing me of the beautiful place I was now.

Love the heart-shaped parachute!

Suddenly, there was Jesus. He had always been there, but I didn’t see Him because I was so preoccupied with what might happen. He grabbed my hands and gazed lovingly into my eyes as we free-fell together. His firm grip overwhelmed me with peace! I could trust Him! Just then I noticed … He had a parachute!!! I knew that He knew the perfect time to pull the cord to release it! He would tuck me into Himself and hold me ever so tightly as we landed safely. There was nothing to fear. But for right now, we were just enjoying this part of our radical adventure … the free-fall!

He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. He will never let me splat on the ground! He has promised that I have a purpose and a destiny with Him. I am clinging to Jesus … my Sweet Promise … no matter what may come next!

God Himself has said, “I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down nor relax my hold on you! Assuredly not!” So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, “The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm. I will not fear or dread or be terrified. What can man do to me?” Hebrew 13:5&6 Amplified

This doesn’t mean I won’t see hardship. Hardship is a guarantee! God’s Word says we are not to be surprised by painful suffering. But it does mean that Jesus will always be with me and teach me amazing lessons along the way and will hold me and bring me through. Even if that means into eternity with Him. I am safe! I trust Him and the promises He has made to me with all my heart!

We are in such good hands!

Thank you, Jesus!!

 
I have suffered much, O LORD; restore my life again, just as you promised. LORD, accept my grateful thanks and teach me your laws. My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your law. Your decrees are my treasure; they are truly my heart’s delight. I am determined to keep your principles, even forever, to the very end. Psalm 119:107-112

Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrew 10:23

My 2013 Word :)

Has God given you a word for 2013 yet? We serve such an encouraging God…He loves to speak words of life over us. We just need to ask and . . . listen.

Last year, the words He gave me were “radical adventure.” It was definitely radical and it definitely was an adventure. I was so excited about 2012, but it turned out completely different than I had anticipated. Never before have I had surgery…I had two in 2012! I got such a severe infection with one that I thought I was going to die (Yes, I am a wee bit dramatic. But it also didn’t help when my mom told me I needed to get myself to the emergency room ASAP! She thought I was septic and wouldn’t survive the night…true story!! :p ). I survived! Yay!! 2012 also had severe heartbreak for me, but God met me in such an intimate way unlike any time before and spoke the words, “Trust Me!” Not only traumatic events happened, but lots of wonderful things filled 2012. Biggest surprise of all … my newest grandbaby, Jackson! And lots of time with my other two grandkids that live just ten minutes from me!! God walked every single step with me on my “radical adventure.” I know Him better and trust Him more than ever!

I took this with my phone on my way home from work. Rays of Hope! It made a reflection of a heart on the rear window of the car in front of me!! I love my sweet Jesus!

So as I began to ask for a word for 2013, I could feel that I was full of dread and fear. I don’t think I could handle another radical adventure. Every time I prayed, I would hear the word “expectant.” I’m pretty slow, but it finally dawned on me that expectant was the word the Lord was giving me for 2013. I looked it up immediately…

1. Expecting, anticipating, or hopeful2. Having expectation, esp of possession of something or prosperity

He is breathing hope into me and wants me to be excited about the future He has for me! No matter what it holds, He will work it for my good and His glory!

I am His masterpiece. He has created me anew in Christ  Jesus, so that I can do the good things in 2013 He planned for me long ago. (Ephesians 2:10) God Almighty planning good things for me ages ago?? Wow! That blows me away!!

I want to be aware, excited and have my spiritual eyes open for how He wants to use me this year! So I expectantly look forward to 2013!!

 

But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation.

It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His tender compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being; therefore will I hope in Him and wait EXPECTANTLY for Him. The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and EXPECTANTLY for Him, to those who seek Him It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:21-26