God Speaks!

A friend of mine posted in Facebook last week that he wonders what would happen if we all just said a prayer for the very first person in our line of sight. He asked if everyone reading his post would just stop right there and pray, whether they knew who they were praying for or not. It reminded me of a time that AL and I went for a little weekend excursion.

So most of you guys know that AL and I love to ride our Harley. Since neither one of us had any obligations one weekend (and this does NOT occur often), we decided to take a short two day trip to Orlando on the bike and just be-bop around town. Considering my career in the motor vehicle accident serious injury field, you can bet that there are certain highways that make me a little nervous. One of those being the road to Orlando, good ol'e I-4.

I am very confident in Al's ability to drive safe and keep us from harm but there is always that "other" driver. I usually have no problem whatsoever falling asleep on the back of the Harley only to awaken when my helmut "clunks" the back of Al's helmut. It is a certain sign to Al, that I have once again fallen asleep. It's really easy to do, with the hum of the wind in your ears and the rumble of the exhaust.

Well, I really didn't want to fall asleep on I-4 this Saturday morning. I also didn't want to distract Al with talking and carrying on a conversation, so I was trying to think of a way to keep myself entertained and not fall asleep when I had this wonderful idea! I decided to pray for every occupant of every car or truck that we passed or that passed us. I started this at about the Plant City exit. Each vehicle that we came across, I prayed individual prayers. There was the older couple in the blue Camry. I prayed for their health and that they are able to enjoy retirement and that they have a relationship with God and can lean on that when times get tough. I prayed for the teenager in the green Volkswagon Jetta. I prayed that he would have a relationship with our wonderful God and make the right choices in his life for his future. I prayed for a young family with an infant in a car seat, that they would bring up their child to know God and that their marriage would be blessed. I prayed for a business man on a cell phone in a black BMW (nice car!) who looked like he was working/driving/stressing on a Saturday. I prayed that he knew God and that above all things, God is in control and that he had time to stop and smell the roses with the important people in his life. I continued on in this manner until we reached Kissimee. I probably prayed for over 100 strangers!

The traffic started to pick up and I was losing my place. Cars were passing by... and there was the white van and then the red truck....and .... and wait, I want to pray for the Publix driver of the Semi..... and then there were five other cars that got away. I was getting all messed up so I decided that I was done. We were almost at our destination. Now let me just mention that the sky was an endless sea of clear blue. It was the most perfect riding weather we have had as far as I can remember. I could see the sky for miles. So here I am, sitting on the back of the bike, traveling through Kissimee, all done praying and thinking, "man, it sure would be nice to get some kind of sign that my prayers were acknowledged. I know we are not supposed to ask God to "prove" that he hears us but I really just wanted something little. I mean, I had just prayed for 45 minuted straight for a ton of strangers that I will never meet. I started to look for the little metal fish that Christians put on the back of their cars. I figured I would take this as my sign.................boy, did I have another thing coming!!

As I am looking for a little fish sign, I notice that there are 2 strange lines up in the sky. Not clouds but just lines, then I realized that an airplane was creating the lines. I watched a little bit longer, wondering what he was doing....who knows how many fish I was missing but I was very curious as to what this pilot was doing. He started his third line and it was clearly going to be a smile. Ok, this is too cool and I have been really quiet so as not to distract AL but GOD IS TALKING TO ME!! I was so excited, so I lean forward and tell Al to look at the smiley face drawn by the pilot and I tell him about the prayers and the sign and I am ready to flip off the back of the bike. Well, the pilot kept going and the next thing we saw was a "J" !!! I said to Al, "Oh my gosh, if that is gonna say Jesus, I am gonna have a heart attack!!"

Sure enough, he spelled out Jesus and then he completed his sentence, "Jesus loves u"....So now we have Al trying to watch the sky, and the traffic and his hysterical wife on the back of the Harley BEGGING him to pull over......WE HAVE TO GET THIS PICTURE!!!! ..... this was one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me...here I was looking for a small little "sign" and God decides to send me a message that could probably be read by the entire city of Orlando. It was so cool! We pulled off the interstate into a bank parking lot and shot a couple pictures. This one was the best.

By now, Al and I are pulled over into a parking lot and taking pictures and just exclaiming how wonderful God is. We were absolutely beside ourselves. People were walking down the sidewalk, cutting through the parking lot, looking at these two crazy bikers making a big deal about this wonderful sky, it was all so awesome! Well, we get back on the bike to continue to our destination and Mr. "Send- Peggy- A- Message- Pilot" is still going strong and of course we were really curious....................the next letter was a "P"............I was about to faint right then and there on International Boulevard..........I was sure he was about to spell PEGGY and that I was about to meet my maker.......... ...he continued on to spell Praise God.... wow was that close! It was awesome.

When God speaks he uses unsuspecting people to get his message across. That pilot will never know how exciting this was to us, and the 100 or so people that I prayed for will never know that they were thought of on a Saturday morning. We never really know what ripple in the ocean our actions cause. Maybe some of the pedestrians that day were "caused" to look up at the sky because of the big deal AL and I made in that parking lot. Who knows. But God loves me and he loves you too. He said so.

The Big 7

I'm not able to articulate why certain subjects pop into my head but this morning, as I intended to blog about something else entirely, the 7 deadly sins just kept rolling around in my otherwise foggy, not-yet-caffeinated brain.
Where in the world did they come from? Am I committing all 7?

You are probably aware of the following factoids but let me bring you up to speed on the historical significance and then we'll talk about these little (big?) thorns in our side.

• Initially, Greek monastic theologian Evagrius of Pontus first drew up a list of eight offenses and wicked human passions:. They were, in order of increasing seriousness: gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, acedia, vainglory, and pride. 
• In the late 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great reduced the list to seven items, folding vainglory into pride, acedia into sadness, and adding envy 
• He decided the most serious to least as follows: pride, envy, anger, sadness, avarice, gluttony, and lust. The criteria? Based on the degree from which they offended against love. Interesting! 

This last point is where I want us to zero in. The 7 deadly sins were ranked according to how flagrant their offense was against love. Of course, the bible repeatedly tells us how important love is (1 Corinthians 13:13, for instance) but do we live our days focused on not offending the gift of love? Love for our Creator, for our family, our friends, the oppressed, etc.?




Let's first look at pride. Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise and is otherwise known as vanity. C.S. Lewis says this, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you." Wow.

So, as food for thought, here are some reference points to see if your prideful spirit is in check. (Oh, this thorn really is sticking in my side this morning.)

Do you have a need to out perform anyone else? In terms of appearance, finances, accomplishments...?

Do you thrive on being the center of attention?

Are you resentful of criticism?

Is it tough to apologize?

Are some tasks too menial for you?


I'm not going to leave you all beat up and battered today. No, lift your head up! When we know better, we can do better. We can start by turning our focus on others; recognizing their accomplishments and watching them shine. We can do something for someone without any need for kudos. We can reach down and give someone a leg up. God sees what we're doing and that's more than enough!

Start small on making needed adjustments and watch the joy in your heart increase tenfold.

Be blessed!

Amy

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To!

I've been working slowly and thoughtfully through a book during my quiet times called Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. The book's premise is that many of the struggles Christian women face are rooted in the lies that they have come to believe over time - lies about God, relationships, self-worth, emotions, sin, and priorities, for example. The further along I get in my study, the more I am learning about why I react to things like I do or why I've always struggled with a particular sin as opposed to some other. It's really pretty liberating, and God's been faithful to grow me in those areas that I've been willing to bring into the light. This week has been tough though. I'd place it under the heading of "Things-You-Need-To-Know-About-Yourself-But-Really-Don't-Want-To Hear". Yesterday, I dug deep into the lie that tells me "I have my rights.".

Though I adamantly denied placing any kind of expectations on God for His blessing and favor, my emotions and behavior indicate that I definitely believe I have a right to certain things. And since I had already decided when I started reading the book that I wasn't going to lie to myself about anything presented, I thought that I may as well do a little homework to see if expecting things of God and claiming my own rights are one and the same thing. Two "exercises" helped me get real.

First, I started making a list of things to which I believe I have a right. For example:

I have a right to have my husband and kids help out around the house.

I have a right to a good night's sleep.

I have a right to be understood.

I have a right to time off from work and an occasional vacation.
I have a right to be treated with respect.

(And, of course,) I have a right to be angry when my rights are violated.

As I looked over my list, I realized that most, if not all, of these "rights" hinge on the blessing of God. Does that mean there is really little, if any, difference between claiming my rights and demanding them of God? I think the two are more similar than most of us care to admit.  The Bible says that it is God who holds all things together; it is His Spirit that moves in the hearts of men; all authority is under His feet, right? So when things don't go as planned, and I get mad, am I holding God responsible? The question prompted another reality check, so I thought back to the last three (3) times I got really mad at God. It took a little time, but you know what I discovered? Pride. The bottom line in all three situations was that I was angry with how things turned out because it inconvenienced or slighted or hurt me. I had worked so hard. Life wasn't fair (to me). Things made no sense (to me). Why did that have to happen (to me)?

The Old Testament tells us about a prophet named Jonah who serves as a powerful example for us on this subject. If you've never read this book in The Bible, stop now and go read it. I'll wait for you. Jonah believed he had a right to minister where he wanted to minister, and it was NOT Ninevah. Ninevah was an awful place, he thought, and "those people" were pagans." Jonah believed he had a right to hate the Ninevites, even to wish God would judge them harshly for their sin. Instead, God forgave them, and Jonah was ticked! He had a pity-party and temper-tantrum all rolled into one. Rather than feel sorry for him or stroke his wounded ego, God got straight to the heart of the matter when he asked Jonah, "Do you have any right to be angry?" (Jonah 4:4). He had to ask the question again in verse 9. Poor Jonah was clueless. And often, so am I.

DeMoss states in her book that the key to living the Christian life is found, not in insisting on our rights, but in yielding them. That is exactly what Jesus did. He traded His home in heaven and His position at the right hand of The Father to take on the form of man. He came to people who did not receive or understand Him. He humbled Himself, even to the point of death on a cross. ...Kinda makes my right to a good night's sleep look pretty lame. Maybe next time my loud neighbor keeps me awake, I should just stop and pray for him. And maybe the next time another one of my rights is violated, I should just let it go. I should look for a way to model Jesus to my world, instead of pouting and setting a bad example. It's something I'm determined to work on...I'll keep you posted on my progress.

~Maria

High Fashion

I'm a jeans and sweatshirt kind of girl. In my family, my sister was the one who cared about clothes, while I was always much more concerned with comfort. If you knew us both then or know us now, you know that not much has changed in that regard. Still, I have to admit that, despite my disinterest in color palettes or what's-in, I love putting on something new. Shoes. A sweater. Jeans. A skirt, top, or scarf. It makes no difference. Wearing something new can almost make me care about "looking good."

You may be shocked to learn that God cares about what we wear. Yep, it's true. Oh...Don't worry. This isn't a blog about modesty or whether it's OK to sport shorts and flip flops to Sunday morning worship services. God's concerns run much deeper. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." It shouldn't surprise us then that He has something to say about the fashion of our hearts. Take a look at what I read this morning in Colossians 3.

"...So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. 

Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.
Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater,

             worshiping the things of this world...

You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.

 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 

Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and

 become like him...Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,

 you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy,

 kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.

For as members of one body you are called to live in peace." (vv 5-10, 12-15)

The Message (which I, incidentally, LOVE) puts verse 9 this way:

"You're done with that old life.

It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire.

Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe.

Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it.

All the old fashions are now obsolete."

Don't you appreciate the vivid word-picture that Paul painted for us? How do we not get it? Christ didn't come just to make us look better. He came because we were spiritually dead and bankrupt! Why is it that, having been given spiritual life, we continue to wear the old clothes in which we were buried? It's time to throw out the garments of pride, greed, anger, and all the rest, and begin consciously and carefully outfitting our hearts each day as God has designed.
Total, uninhibited access to my heart is what Christ commands. Because I want to experience a fresh move of God in my life and have it spill over into my marriage, my home, my work, and my church, I am committed to whispering this simple prayer each morning and throughout my days --beginning today. If you feel led, I hope some of you will join me.

Clothe me in Christ, Father, by the power of Your Spirit. Amen.
~Maria

A Trip to the Inside

I leave tomorrow.  I will fly through Paris (drool out the window and wish it were an 18 hour layover) and land in Riga, Latvia.  I will be flying there with 22 orphans who will be returning from their winter host trip.  It is going to be a big, heavy, emotional, powerful, and beautiful trip.

I will be staying for 12 days with two other amazing women and I will be interviewing and photographing more orphans for the summer host program with Project One Forty Three.

I will be going to orphanage after orphanage, meeting child after child who wants and needs the same things: love, a family, a chance, to belong, to be wanted, to be rescued.  I will meet them, love on them, and leave.

I need much prayer... much prayer.

I had a dream the other night.  We were looking for a house and the realtor took me to the craziest place.  It was in the middle of town and there was this huge wall and gate.  The gate opened and our car went inside and it was an entirely different world... right there in the middle of mine.  Everything was run down and stores were empty.  The sky was gray and there was smoke everywhere and people walking everywhere and garbage was everywhere.  It was horrible.  Tall dark buildings were everywhere and they were apartment buildings.

I could not believe the realtor had brought me there.  I was mad and confused.  Did he not know me better than that?  Did he really think I would want an apartment here?  I felt like he was wasting my time and then it got worse.

He took me to an apartment and this sweet woman opened the door to show me and try to sell me her apartment.  It was filthy.  I could tell she had tried to clean it up for me but with little success.  Many of the walls only had a layer of paper in holes separating the cold from outside.  I walked through to be gracious to her.  Then I politely thanked her and told her she had a lovely home.  "So you will buy it," she said.  "No, I can't it is not big enough," I replied.  She looked at me with imploring eyes and then started trying to convince me it was big enough.  I could hardly hear her for the sound of the thoughts running through my head. 

Earlier, one of the realtors in the office had made a comment about her taking her own life... they feared she may commit suicide.  So as she stood before me in panic, "needing" me to buy her apartment to live, wringing her hands and imploring... all I could think about was, "You are here now, you see this, you know this, you are now responsible... this is your responsibility... you can't just walk away now."

I woke up tired.  You know those dreams that just zap all the energy out of you?  I started telling Don my dream and it hit me.  We have been looking for another house and so I was confused at first about what it meant but then it hit me.  This dream was not about houses.  It was about my trip.  It was about children.  About lives.  About hope.

I was about to go in... to the inside.  We have adopted three children, we have hosted three, we sponsor three, and we have been child advocates for years.  But I have never really been "inside".

I was about to be way responsible.  I felt a weight of heaviness and dread.

The next night, we worshipped with a dear group of believers and they prayed over me.  One precious woman spoke words that smacked me.  "You are not responsible.  You will go love them and you will come back and be their voice.  But you can trust God with the rest."  I sobbed.  I needed that so badly.  And the LORD knew it.  And He gave it to me. Peace.  Sweet Peace.

And even though I am going "inside"...  I will love them and look for opportunities to share Christ with them.  I will photograph them.  And I will leave.  I will return and I will be their voice and I will try so hard to find host families for them.  But I do not hold the weight of responsibility.  It is in the LORD'S hands.  They are in the LORD'S hands.  He is WAY WAY bigger than I am!  I will obey and do my part... the part He designed for me.  And He will do the rest.

Please pray for me.  Please let the Holy Spirit guide you in prayer and pray every time you think about it.

Thank you... much much love,

Dawn

I'm Interested if YOU are

This is for the girls who are married or want to be. Can we talk football?
If your man loves football (and I realize there are many who couldn't care less about it), then I hope you watched some NFL playoffs and the BCS Championship over the last few days. Why? Well, for one thing....your husband likes it when you take an interest in things he enjoys!

Imagine the day you take your husband/boyfriend to the mall and instead of finding a massage chair in the middle of the mall to park his fanny in or instead of groaning every time you head to the dressing room, he actually cheered you on to a wardrobe touchdown! Let's imagine him smiling instead of grimacing when you literally jump up and down, squealing in delight about the 50% off sale going on at Macy's. What if he actually dragged you to the shoe department and bought those sky high heels you've had your eye on for months...just because?
Admit it. We like it when he cares about what we care about. In all honesty, he could feign interest but if he did it with a good attitude, we'd appreciate the effort.

Some of us have gotten a little lazy.

Instead of seeing his interests as an opportunity for inclusion, we complain. Maybe it's not football....maybe it's some other hobby he has that you despise. Maybe (oh, how I detest this word....) we have nagged him about his hobby. Guilty as charged. It just so happens I LOVE football but I resent the time my husband spends in the gym and I let him know it. Often.

Ladies, we don't have to be joined at the hip with our guy every moment of the day but maybe we should reconsider if we're pushing away the people we love most.

Get in the game! Surprise him by caring about what he cares about~ there's no greater gift!

Be blessed,
Amy

Made for More

Can I just be honest? There's this "thing" on my heart right now that I am having trouble relinquishing. I know I should let it go and, more importantly, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I know I can. Trouble is (and forgive me for ending this sentence with a preposition, Mike Brooks), I really don't want to, and that leaves me more than a little frustrated with myself. Will God eventually force me into it, back me into a corner until I have no choice but to cry, "Uncle!"? I think not. Instead, His still, small voice whispers to me about eternity, and I'm left knowing how wrong I am to allow bitterness to grow even the smallest root in me. It happened again last night. My husband looked at me and said (about something entirely different), "You know, in the big scheme of things, this does not matter. God's Will is bigger than our plans." He didn't whisper it, but he might as well have.

Rick Warren, author of the The Purpose-Driven Life, has this to say:
"'The wise King Solomon once wrote: “He [God] has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people can’t see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT). In other words, it seems God has purposely frustrated us. He made us with a capacity for eternal things yet kept us from the full knowledge of what He is up to. And why would He do that unless He wanted us to seek after Him and perhaps find Him? (Acts 17:27)"

I have to admit that I don't walk around thinking about eternity all that much, but I don't really think that's what God wants me to do. If He did, why bother giving us an earthly existence at all? Rather, I think He wants me to live with an eternal perspective, to be constantly aware and tuned into the fact that this life is not all there is and that most of the things I worry about or am preoccupied with are fleeting, momentary, and transient. Devoting my time and energy to transient things, wishing people would change or holding grudges or wanting to always be right or fill in the blank here, when I could be doing something meaningful...Well, it's hardly a fair trade. God is in the business of redemption, of making beauty from ashes. This is what He says he wants to do for us.
        "...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
         the oil of joy instead of mourning,
         and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
         They will be called oaks of righteousness,
         a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:3)
His purpose for you and me in this life has something to do with preparation for the next, and with growing us in such a way that--by virtue of our forever relationship with Him--we reflect His light and love to those around us. While I am of no good with my head in the clouds, I'm also useless if my life is bogged down with meaningless concerns and pointless priorities. We must balance the here and now with a certainty of the there and then.

Warren asks another question that I've been chewing on for a couple of days now: “Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today?” (Purpose-Driven Life, day 4)  I haven't arrived at a final answer, but I know it includes a renewed commitment to spend more of my resources, including my time and energy, on things that endure. My day-to-day existence needs to be driven by an eternal viewpoint, making me more responsible with things that matter and less preoccupied with what doesn't. It's time to get serious about this.

~Maria