Who Do I Think I AM?

Over the last several years, I’ve noticed a trend and been a part of it. The only time we share what’s happening in our lives with each other is when things are going really great or something catastrophic happens. Have you noticed (unless you’re a mama with small children who uses FB for adult conversation) that we don’t share life’s “little” things.
Really and truly isn’t that what life is? If we look at the life of Christ, he shared His life with his apostles and disciples. It was His habit to find a quiet time with God each day. Mark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Don’t you know he poured His heart out there both the good and the bad! He shared His plans with the apostles. He mourned over the hardness of the heart of Jerusalem(Matt.23:37)….In other words, He did not carry the burden alone.

Do I? If I take the chance and bear my soul is someone going to go out and talk about me, whisper behind my back….

When did it become easier to bear my soul to strangers who have never met me or who rarely see me, than to share the daily struggle of walking in the light (when it feels like Satan has his teeth sunk deep in the back of my heel)with those closest to me. Why am I unwilling to open up and lay my heart open to those who work in the “hospital”?
Really, who do I think I am?? If the son of God would ask those closest to him to watch and wait while He prayed…why don’t I ask those I sit in the pew with to watch and pray with me?
I know Jesus took Andrew, John, and Peter further into the garden that I will still have those special friends who just get to know me…Matt.26:36-38Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."

You know the kind of friends I’m talking about…the ones who when you call will say I’m on my way without a second thought. The ones who can tell you you’re wrong, yet you know they love you. The ones that when you see them again even after months or years, you can pick up like it was yesterday.

God does not expect me to be perfect, but he does expect me to love. In fact, I’m supposed to love so well that the world can look at me and know I’m a Christian by the love I share. 1John 2:5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

Am I loving others? Do I share that love with everyone or do I share it with a select few? Do I share my heart with those it’s just comfortable for me to share it with, or do I step outside my comfort zone and shower those outside my circle of friends or the hard to love with that same care and concern?

At what point did I begin to share only the good stuff? I need to do that but if I’m fighting a particularly tough temptation I need to be able to ask for prayers. I need to be able to ask for someone to lift up my name in prayer…to pray with me and for me. I know that scripture holds promises that are too good not to go for and in the doing the burden…
Jam 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
Jam 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
2Cr 9:12-14 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.

The weight of temptation becomes lighter because not only am I sharing my burden with the Savior, but I’m sharing it with a sister or brother.

I need to know that I’m not the only battle weary Christian, but that together through Christ I know the war has already been won. Hbr 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. If the Savior needed the comfort of friends, who do I think I am when I try to face life’s struggles as one person? Why did He give us the Church, if he only expected me to use it as the Emergency Room?

Father, help me to take that chance. Help me to open my heart. Help me to see those around me so in need of your love. Help me to ask for help from my sisters and brothers. Help me to remember that while this life is full of pain and suffering that I can have a joyfully abundant life because of that pain and the blessings that have come with it. Help me to reflect your love and to be quick to admit when I’ve failed. Help me to be quick to forgive and slow to form judgments. Help me to be the me you want me to be. Amen.

What Does Loves Look Like?

I may not know how to define it,
But I sure do know when I see it.
You see there really is no doubt,
When you are out and about
Just when you’ve seen some LOVE.

I saw IT today, as my little man started his,
Still warm and groggy from bed,
His “Morning, Mom“, as he plopped down beside me,
Said so much more than hi,
You betcha, I saw LOVE today.

I saw IT, as my sweetheart came through the door,
Hot and tired and covered with sweat, yet waiting,
To hear a little man, yell, "Daddy's home" and be attacked.
He cooled off a bit and picked up my list... to grocery shop for us.
Did I see LOVE today? Oh, YES in the very best way!

I saw IT again, as we went to comfort a friend,
And we watched as he comforted his family.
While they were hurting, he got on his knees,
And he helped them their hurt to grieve.
Oh yes, I saw LOVE today.

I saw IT when two sweet silver heads,
Bowed their heads in prayer with clasped hands,
And heads pulled near, a tear on each cheek,
As they prayed for a young couple just beginning their journey.
It’s beautiful to watch LOVE this way.

I saw IT on the face of an anxious groom,
Waiting to see his bride,
I saw IT on Daddy’s as he gave her away,
And the bride was a glow with IT too.
I saw LOVE just beginning - all brand new.

I saw IT as a young lady makes a hard choice,
Her heart open and bleeding, but wanting much more,
Not more for herself, but for the wee babe,
She’s learned she’s going to have, she’s chosen life
YES, I see LOVE, sometime’s its hard here.

I see IT again, a couple with arms longing to be full,
Their hearts breaking because it just doesn’t seem to be,
They hold each other close, here IT is again,
And they pray for strength and comfort and grace.
Here’s LOVE again filled with tears and just a dash of hope.

The young woman has chosen a family for her wee babe,
The couple with arms longing to be filled are waiting just for that,
I see, IT, as she labors…and as they pace the floor.
Sweet baby make your entrance here, OH you shall see IT too!
I see LOVE as Birthmother gives Mama and Daddy baby.

I see IT when friendship is offered,
Not without having to prove one’s self,
But simply because a friend is needed.
I see IT when children smile and run and play and sing.
This is LOVE that sets apart the pure of heart.

If I look back into the past, I can see IT once again,
On a Hill where three crosses stood, and Christ bore all my sin.
I see IT in every stripe, in every ragged breath,
The pain the Son of God endured was to help me see,
That while I think IT might be easy, His is LOVE perfected.



Gal. 6:14 "May I not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

A Time of Storing Memories

As the days fly by and the seasons change, we are given the privilege of watching our babies grow. To be able to see all the little changes from day to day and the big changes that seem to all most happen overnight. My baby will be nine in one month and I’m so thankful for how God has worked our family, so that, even when we thought our world was crumbling He was providing us the opportunities to raise our baby the way we want to.
I recently came across Luke chapter 2 again. I know I’ve read this chapter many times over but something jumped out at me a little differently this time. The chapter deals with the Christ's birth and the two times we are allowed to see Jesus taken to the temple to worship. At the time of his circumcision and as a pre-teen who scared his mama and daddy and stayed in Jerusalem listening and talking to the teachers. I guess I have always gotten caught up in the end of the chapter, but this time it was the middle that caught my attention.
God introduces us to two very faithful, hardworking Jews: Simeon and Anna. They were both well advanced in age and were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah.
Beginning in Luke 2:25, we get the background that Simeon had been waiting for Christ to come and had been promised that he would see Him. When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple the Holy Spirit had Simeon there and waiting.
Luke 2:27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, :28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said :29 "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; :30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation :31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, :32 A light to [bring] revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.":33 And Joseph and His mother [fn] marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
I love the part where we’re told that His parents marveled at the things that were being spoken. It seems as new parents, we marvel at every little detail and we store those memories up. Here was God saying, this is My son and He will do wonderful things. As mamas, we love to hear sweet precious words spoken to our children, but sometimes there are moments that just stand out in the haze of sleepless nights and dirty diapers. For Joseph and Mary this was one of those times. In Luke 2:34-35, Simeon goes on to tell Mary that her baby is destined to be the rise and fall of many in Israel and that a sword will pierce her soul, so that the hearts of many may be revealed. I think about this and know that this had to be one of those moments that she hid away in her heart.
Then God introduces us to a woman of great faith, she was widowed early and spent the rest of her life serving in the temple and was known to be a prophetess, and she comes in as Simeon is blessing Jesus and she gives God praise for allowing her to see the Messiah. And speaks of Him to all who are interested in redemption. It is after all of this takes place that Joseph and Mary go home and spend 12 years raising Jesus.
Her mama’s heart must have been full on that trip home, recounting the things that were said that day and all that had led up to His birth. She knew she was raising God’s son and that he had a job to do. But she also dealt with him as a toddler, a little boy, and what seems to be a very precocious preteen. Luke 2:40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, [fn] filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Luke 2:41-52, gives us the account of the family traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, and how Jesus stays behind to listen and question the teachers in the temple. Can you imagine just how scared His mama and daddy had to be. (I know when mine just barely gets out of eye shot I go nuts). I know I wouldn’t have been sure which I would have wanted to do first: hug and kiss Him, or beat Him for worrying me. When they ask him what he thought he was doing scaring them this way, he answered Luke 2:49 And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" We’re told in the next verse that they didn’t understand his statement. I can only imagine that as we get caught up in the day to day routine of parenting that His beginning could have felt surreal enough for them to not understand that He was talking about His Father’s business, not his daddy’s. I can get that and I think that it would be very easy to do. I mean do we get so busy with school, ball, Scouts, play dates, clean rooms, and the daily grind that we forget to show our babies how to be about the Father’s business.
Luke 2:51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.
This is one of my favorite verses. She kept all these things in her heart. Can you only imagine that as he left carpentry and began His ministry that she didn’t look back on the things that Simeon and Anna said the first time they took Him to the temple. As she watched Him suffer and die on the cross, don’t you think that the words of Simeon came back to her “ a sword shall pierce your soul”. I can’t begin to imagine the torture in her soul as she watched her Baby die for a crowd shouting for His death, and knowing that He was their salvation. I would have wanted to scratch and tear the eyes out of those who spoke so cruelly as He suffered. Maybe, it was the store house of memories that helped her through it. Surely, His placing her in John’s care would have offered some comfort, but I would have wanted to yell and scream, weep and wail at the injustice of it all. Yet, she played the part God gave her. She, as a virgin, delivered the Messiah to a world in desperate need of Him, and just as the prophets spoke of His birth, they also foretold his death.
Let’s take the time to store up memories in our hearts as we watch our babies grow. Let’s feed them the word of God and help them to drink the water of service, and let’s prepare them for a world that will wound them and so in turn wound us. Let’s listen to their sweet voices as they share their dreams with us. Let’s pray and hold fast to the knowledge that with Christ’s help they WILL overcome the trials and tribulations of this world. Let’s train them to live each day as if it were there last and each moment a gift so precious that it’s a sin to waste them. May we train our babies to look for the good in others and to stand firm in the faith. I know if we do our jobs and our babies do theirs then this life is just an intermission in eternity and whether we are granted the opportunity to watch them grow old and have children of their own, or they leave this world before us…We CAN KNOW that we WILL spend eternity with them. So store up those memories, the ones others give us to hold onto about our babies, and the words they speak to us. We never know when those things that we hide away in our hearts will be what sees us through this life to the next.
May God bless us as we raise our babies and may He help us see clearly the things we need to do and say.