Clear the Air

As I stood in front of the fireplace this morning, I had a perfect view of the light shining through the glass above our front door. What did I see, but an array of tiny little particles floating in the air, made visible only by the ray of sunshine beaming into the room. Oh my!  Is this what we are breathing? I looked at our air purifier. When was the last time I changed the filter? I think I will put that on my To-Do list for today!

As I watched those tiny particles floating around, I thought about how they are only visible in the light. They are always there, but we don’t see them. We don’t think about them. But are they the reason my kids sneeze? Do they cause problems unaware to us?

In our own lives, do we have seemingly “tiny” sins that no one knows about?  Do we harbor jealousy and envy? Do we have unforgiveness in our hearts? Resentment? What about impure thoughts? Dare we ask God to reveal these things to us? Dare we let the Light shine into our lives to purify us? “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139: 23,24. 

Just to see what would happen, I blew softly into the beam of light. It took a moment, but I watched as the tiny particles began to twirl and bounce off of each other. Sometimes, we have hurts, anger or insecurities buried deep inside of us. When the winds of stress and frustration begin to blow, or worse, a storm of life, these hurts and insecurities cause our spirits to become weary or agitated; we don’t even know why because we have forgotten they are there. We have lived with them so long.

It takes the light of God’s Word to reveal and heal these deeply buried aches. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind...” Romans 12:2 God sees the hurt, even when we have “forgotten” about it. “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.” Psalm 56:8 Dredging up these feelings may be difficult, but God is right there with us. “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do. I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

Like my air purifier cleans the air (when I change the filter), let’s allow God’s Word and His Spirit to cleanse our souls.

Give Me a Break!

There it was. The type of email I dread. I was the target of someone’s frustration. As I sat there reading, my heart tightened and my temperature rose. Actually, I had nearly expected it, but that still didn’t make it right. One well-intentioned, non-threatening question had been taken the wrong way.  I didn’t deserve this full-on aggression. What on earth!?  

What makes a situation like this worse is when it comes from someone who knows you…or at least should.  When someone who should know your heart thinks the worst of you, it hurts. When someone doesn’t give you the benefit of the doubt, especially when there is nothing to justify the onslaught of fiery feelings and words, it stinks.

Now I could have replied in kind and given as good as I had gotten. However…I didn’t.  I politely replied that I was sorry this person was having a difficult time and felt the need to take it out on me.  My question was with good intent and not personal.  And I left it at that.  The words went over and over in my mind like laundry tumbling in a dryer. I forgave the unjustified berating, but my heart wouldn’t let it go.  I had to ask God to help me move on and stop dwelling on it. 

Sometimes we get hit with things other people do that we can’t control. We can, however, choose our own actions and words. It’s better to stop and think than to spew words or insults that we can’t take back. I will admit there have been times when I have chosen incorrectly.  But my heart longs for peace and it hates fighting and arguing. This world is full of pain and strife without my adding to the mix.

 There are lessons for both sides that we can take away from this. 

•  We can refrain from hurting people we care about by following 1 Corinthians 13:7. “Love is ever ready to believe the best of every person…” (Amp Bible) Give people the benefit of the doubt. Don’t automatically assume that people are out to hurt you. Most of them, or at least the people you have relationships with, are not. Consider the character of the person and your past experience with them. Does your assumption line up?  

•  Be Wise – Hold your tongue – Proverbs 29:11 “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check.”  Proverbs 18:2 “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” 
• Keep Calm – Proverbs 14:29 “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”  James 1:19,20 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."
• Pursue Peace – Proverbs 20:3 “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.”  Psalm 34:14 “Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.”
• Forgive – Mathew 6:14,15 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
• It would also be helpful to remember the old saying, “Hurting people hurt people.” While this is no excuse for us to pass on our hurt, this awareness can help to soften the blow. And we can calm our emotions by actually praying for them instead of retaliating.
• Finally, remember that our enemy is not each other.  It is Satan.  Ephesians 6:12 “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Don’t be a tool for the devil to use to cause strife and discord.

Our Great God

“There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior.” Isaiah 45:11

“Why is God great?” was the question presented to us by our choir director as we were warming up by singing, “How Great is our God.” As others began to answer, I pondered the question in my heart.  

When I think of God’s greatness, I think on a grand scale.  I think about the creator of the universe, speaking everything into existence. I think of his gentle hands forming Adam and Eve. I think of His power that parted the Red Sea and caused the walls of Jericho to crumble and fall. 

The Bible has many references to the right hand of God. Isaiah 48:13 says “My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens;” Psalm 118:16 praises God, “The Lord’s right hand is lifted high, the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!” Psalm 89:13 says “Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.” Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)

What amazes me is that this powerful, mighty God also uses His hand to reach down to us. Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  When John fell at the Lord’s feet at the sight of His mighty presence in Revelation 1:17, Jesus placed his right hand on him and said, “Do not be afraid.”

God, who set the planets into orbit, who placed us at just the right distance from the sun, who breathed His very own breath into Adam’s lungs, God who is so Holy that Seraphim in His throne room cry out continually, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3) is the same God who loves us personally.  Isaiah 57:15, “Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’" God reaches down to help us. To love on us. To lift us up. (Psalm 40:2)

God sent His Son to feel the pain of this earth and suffer and die for us, His Son who knew no sin, who, himself, was God. (Philippians 2:6, John 1:1) Those same hands that stretched over the raging sea when He calmed the storm by saying, “Peace, be still,” the hands that touched the blind, the deaf and the lame and made them whole were the same hands that were nailed to a cross for you and me.  That’s amazing and quite humbling.

God is Great.  How great is He?  Greater than we could ever comprehend!

Mary Did You Know

For the life of me, I cannot hear the Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know” without tearing up. It hasn’t always been this way. Years ago, I even portrayed Mary in a Christmas play and kissed my baby (doll) at just the right moment in the song. (“When you kiss your little baby, you kissed the face of God”) I thought the song was beautiful, but I didn’t fully appreciate the sentiment of it. 

It wasn’t until I was expecting my first child, our son, that this song really touched me in a special way. We were singing it in our choir’s cantata, and I began to think about my own little boy who was yet to be born. With all the joy and happiness surrounding his coming birth and all the hopes and dreams I had for him, I couldn’t imagine having to give him up for anyone. I also couldn’t imagine my son bearing the weight of the whole world on his shoulders: The Savior of the world.

When we read what the angel Gabriel said to Mary in Luke, he actually speaks wonderful things about her son’s future: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:31-33

Wow, what an amazing future for her son! Furthermore, when the shepherds came to worship Jesus, they told everyone what the angel had proclaimed to them out in the field, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ, the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11 But Mary didn’t have much to say considering the matter. For verse 19 says, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” I don’t blame Mary! I would have been speechless too. How could this be? She was just a simple girl. Now she had given birth to the Savior of the world!

Mary did not know in the beginning what amazing things her son would do: Walk on water, heal the blind, deaf and lame, calm a storm with just 3 words, raise the dead. Did she consider that her son would save her family, her descendants and even herself? That he had walked where angels trod, that he would rule the nations, or that he would be heaven’s perfect lamb sacrificed for the entire world? All the power of the Great I Am wrapped up in a little baby.  It was far too much to comprehend. 

Mary was a Hebrew girl who had found favor with God. She must have honored and loved God to have found such favor that she would be the mother of the Son of God. Mary had most likely heard about the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Now God had told her through his angels that this miracle that had been prophesied throughout history was becoming reality, and it was physically starting with her.

Being a mother, I want the best for my children. I want them to be successful and happy. When I sing this song about Mary being the mother of the single most important person in history, my heart gets weak and my throat closes up. To imagine Mary cuddling her sweet baby who would be the Savior of the world, THE one true and living King of Heaven and earth, it’s difficult for the words of the song to come out. So, since becoming a mother, I cannot get through this song without tears in my eyes. 

Listen and imagine the enormity of the words. The power of the Great I Am!

That I May Know Him

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord... that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings... Philippians 3: 8, 10

A I was studying the book of Philippians, these verses seemed to leap off the page right into my heart. I started using Kay Author's “The New Inductive Study Series” to study books of the Bible. The study on Philippians and Colossians is titled, “That I May Know Him.” (Side note: if you want to know a book of the Bible backward and forward, in and out, these studies do that! They are not about Arthur's insight, but about the insight you receive when you really study the scriptures for yourself.)

I chose this one first because I want to know more about God Himself. Until we truly know who God is, how can we love and serve him whole-heatedly? When I read this verse, I found myself asking, “Is knowing Christ Jesus more important than anything else? Anything that I may have to give up in order to do so? It was to Paul. Obviously so. Paul gave up everything to know Jesus and by knowing Him, to serve him with all that he was.

Most Christians would say that they already know Jesus. Being saved is the most important step in knowing Jesus, but it isn't the final step. As Christians, our heart's desire should be to know all that we are able about our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus. In relationships, whether it be a friendship, marital, sibling, etc..., we don't feel close to a person if we don't take the time to get to know them. How is it any different with God?

The Lord put a desire in my heart a few years ago to find out more about who He is, His character and His attributes. He lead me to a Bible study called “Knowing God by Name” by Mary Kassian. By this time, I had been involved in and lead several women's bible studies at church. I decided to do this one for myself over the summer. I was so moved by it, I wanted to share it with others. Out of all the studies I had done, I have never gotten so much out of any of them as I did this one. I learned so much about God that my heart and perspective were changed. I grew to love Him more and be awestruck by Him more than I ever had before.

I was a little disappointed however, when I had the fewest number of women in this class out of all the studies we had done. Now, I know that things come up and some people who may have wanted to be there were not able. But the numbers did tend to suggest something. Other studies were more about how we could change or how God could help us. This study was strictly about getting to know our Father. It seemed that subject wasn't as interesting. What I would loved to have told them is that our lives and we, personally, do change for the better when we get to know God better! There is immeasurable value in knowing God.

It seems to be the unfortunate and unintentional truth of Christians today to stay so busy that taking the time to get to know God, takes a back seat to nearly everything else. I heard our pastor say yesterday that many people only go to church when there is nothing else on the schedule to do. Church often takes a back seat to other things. I am not legalistic and I know that sometimes things come up, but when it becomes a habit, we need to ask ourselves have these other things become idols?

What about our time spent at home? Do we let sleep, tv, social media, household chores, etc... squeeze out the time that we need to devote to learning about God? I once heard a pastor say that whatever you can't give up to spend time with Jesus is more important to you than He is. That really hit me hard because I didn't think I could give up sleep in the morning to get out of bed early to pray, but I didn't want extra sleep to be more important to me than Jesus. (Unfortunately, I have often had to be reminded of this. Those who know me, know I like to sleep as long as I can in the morning! My best sleep is around 5am).

Look again at what Paul said, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus.” When I look at the list above, it is truly convicting that I would consider any of these things as more important than knowing Jesus. We would never think that! But when we allow them to keep us from reading God's word, from prayer or going to church, that is what we are saying. They have become our idols, because we have made them more important than God. Why waste so much of our precious time on things that have no value? It doesn't make sense. “Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15,16)

I pray that the earnest desire of my heart and yours is the same as Paul's in verse 10 “that I [we] may know Him.”

Only a Dream

Last night I had a dream that felt so happy and light only to wake to a realization that brought me to tears. My sister and I were sitting on the bed in our old room laughing and talking when my dad came walking down the hall. He was smiling and laughing, probably cracking some joke with us. He had a slight limp, but he was otherwise healthy. I joyfully pointed out that not too long ago, he couldn't walk at all. Now he was healed and everything was back to normal, only better.

Suddenly I awoke and immediately realized that my dad was gone. He had not been healed while here on earth. I began to sob. What a cruel dream. I knew my dad was walking, talking and singing in heaven, no longer bound by ALS, but how sweet it was in my dream to have him back with us. To see his smile and hear his laugh.


Change is hard. It's been nearly two years since Daddy died, but the change that his absence has left is permanent. That's difficult to grasp sometimes. Our family dynamic has changed. My sisters and I lost the man that we knew would come to our rescue, if we asked. My brothers lost their closest confidant and mentor. My mom lost the love of her life and best friend. Change is hard. As I write this, I feel like a little girl again who needs her daddy. We didn't have the most affectionate relationship, but my dad could always be counted on. Even as an adult, or maybe especially as an adult, I knew he was there for me when I needed him.


Now that I am older, so many of my friends and family have lost or are losing their parents. It seems to be the stage of life that we are in or are coming into. Grown men, like my husband, who have had close relationships with their dads, feel lost without them, at least at first. Who do they go to now for fatherly advice or a listening ear? A dad is a dad no matter how old you are. The void is never really filled. There are those who have lost their mothers, the heart of their homes. The glue that seemed to hold everything and everyone together. Entire families can feel lost. I know I would feel lost without my mom.


Life changes come in many ways, but none so hard as the loss of a loved-one. That change is permanent. I can think of those whom I know personally that have lost a sister or brother who was not only a sibling, but a friend. Women my own age who have lost their babies, a loss that only a parent could comprehend.


So what do we do? How do we get past the hurt and the emptiness. The sadness and pain? The only way I know is to run to the One who knows our hurts, who feels our pain and wants to bring comfort to our hearts. Psalm 34:18 tells us that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Jesus knows this life is hard. He knows the pain of loss and heartache. Jesus, knowing he could heal Lazarus, wept with compassion at the pain of his friends. Jesus cares for us. 1 Peter 5:7. Psalm 27:10 says, “Even if my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take me up.” Though parents lost in death haven't forsaken their children, they are still gone. The Lord will hold us close.


In this life, we will have heartache. We will face many changes. We all need God's comfort to get through and wisdom and strength to move forward. Even when we don't understand and are even angry with God, the best thing to do, the only thing to do, is to run TO Him, not from Him. He is our refuge from the storm. Our anchor of hope. Hebrews 6:19

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Fear: The Struggle is Real

 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

There are many people in the Bible that I truly admire. Joshua is one of those people. I was excited that our Sunday school lesson Sunday was about Joshua and how the Lord used him to lead God’s people into the land he had promised them. Joshua was one of the two spies, the other being Caleb, who believed God would help them possess the Promised Land. The other ten were full of fear and gave a negative report. They didn’t believe God would or perhaps even could help them. Out of these 12 men, only two made it into the Promised Land: Joshua and Caleb. The rest died in the wilderness.

We had our 4^th graders count the number of times God told Joshua to be strong and courageous in our scripture text 1-9. In just 3 verses, 6,7 and 9, God told Joshua these words 3 times. We aren’t told how Joshua was feeling about his new task of taking Moses’ place in leading this large group of people as well as leading the battles against their foes that would ultimately secure their inheritance. But God knew his heart. From the evidence of these encouraging words being spoken to Joshua 3 times in one encounter, along with commanding him not to be afraid or discouraged, it seems that Joshua may have been a little nervous. God in His loving nature didn’t expect Joshua to be strong and courageous, nor win the battles in his own strength. I love that He encouraged Joshua and assured him that He would be with him. Verse 9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Fear is a reality for many people. Fear and anxiety can often paralyze a person. It can keep them in bondage, holding them back from doing things that God is calling them to do. Fear of rejection, fear of crowds, fear of public speaking, fear of failure, fear of not measuring up, fear of being compared to someone else, fear of giving up control, etc...etc...etc... None of these fears are from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. 

I’m not speaking about something I know nothing about. I have been prey to each of these at some point in my life. Some of them still rear their ugly heads occasionally, and I have to resist them and trust God. (Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. James 4:7) I remember when I was a teenager/young adult when it was time for greeting each other during our Sunday morning service at church, I would slip out the back until it was over, afraid to have to talk to people. I didn’t take chorus in junior high and high school, even though I loved singing, because I was afraid I would have to sing a solo in front of everyone. At 25, my Aunt who led the singing at church wanted me to sing with the praise team. Sometimes I would wait until the singing was over to go into church because I was afraid she would call me up on stage.

As a new mom, I turned down an invite to go out with my husband’s parents and some family friends because I was afraid my baby would start crying, and I wouldn’t be able to comfort him. The woman we were going with also had a baby and he never cried. I was afraid she would be seen as a better mother than I. Worst of all, I was afraid my mother-in law would take him from me, and he would stop crying. Oh the horror! 

I could go on and on, but you get the point. At a defining point in my walk with God, I had had enough. I was at a retreat where we were told to write down something that we were willing to ultimately give to God and place the paper in a basket at the foot of a cross, obviously symbolic of laying it at the feet of Jesus. This was one of mine. I was tired of being timid and afraid. God has helped me so much with this. I do still have my moments, but I don’t let them take me down and keep me from doing what God is calling me to do. I want my children to see me as a confident woman of God. Not in her own abilities but in trusting God to help her overcome her fears. I want them to be strong and courageous and do whatever God leads them to do. I need to be a good example for them. 

Being courageous doesn’t mean you are completely fearless; it means you do whatever needs to be done in spite of your fear. And we don’t have to do it alone. God is with us. We need to be like Joshua and Caleb who trusted God and believed in His ability to give them victory instead of like the other ten spies who feared defeat and didn’t trust God to do what He said He would do. They actually let their fear and unbelief defeat them. By doing so, they disobeyed God, thus never seeing the reality of what He had promised them.

Remember, the first step is always the hardest!