Hearts in Service

  I wrote this blog post back in 2019 and I revisited it this morning. It's been interesting to see how the Lord has worked in my life since writing it.  Isaiah 43:16-21 (HCSB) ~ This is what the Lord says— who makes a way in the sea, and a path through surging waters, who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick )— “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. The animals of the field will honor Me, jackals and ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. The people I formed for Myself ' will declare My praise. I've had the strange sense the past few months that God i

I love to sew and have sewn for years, both for pleasure and for business. As I have honed my craft, I have learned that I dislike sewing quilts. They are too time-consuming for my personality. However, I appreciate the beauty in little bits of cloth intricately sewn together. It especially amazes me when I see a quilt that is entirely hand-stitched. I can appreciate how much time is involved in piecing together some of the more intricate patterns.  Quilts also remind me of how the church should operate. The church is made up of a patchwork of people, sewn together into a beautiful quilt that is the body of Christ.  Each person has a different spiritual gift, personality, and talent that while by itself can be useful, but when perfectly pieced together with the rest of the body becomes something spectacular. Some have been given gifts in teaching or prophecy. Others are gifted in administration and still others have gifts in prayer. Some are encouragers and others love to serve. Indivi

Zechariah 4:6-10 ~  Then he responded to me by saying, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit!” says the Lord. “What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. He will bring out the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace” to it.’” Again the word of the Lord came to me saying: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this House. His hands will also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord has sent me to you. For who despises the day of small things? These seven—which are the eyes of Adonai that run back and forth throughout the whole earth—will rejoice when they see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand .” As believers, we are a culture obsessed with programs and big, seemingly successful ministries. When you are in a small church it's easy to start to feel as if your work is meaningless and invisible. What's the point of this if it doesn't turn into a big and booming ministry? As

I had spent the entire day in meetings yesterday so I made a point of making sure I got outside and out in the fresh air. As  I was walking and reflecting yesterday, I realize that I am beginning to develop an awareness of how the Lord has used this season of feeling alone to stretch me and draw me into closer fellowship with Him. I have taken on more of a leadership and mentoring role in almost every ministry area in my life and I know that I would not be able to do that if I was where I had been 5 years ago. As I thought back over the past few years I can see how the Lord has pulled me into a space of being isolated in order to hear more clearly the direction He wants me to go.  I've been focusing on the word, Connection, this year and I've learned a few lessons about staying connected or abiding in the vine. 1. To abide you need to allow God to create spaciousness in your life.  What do I mean by this? We have a tendency to crowd so much into our schedule and want to accompl

It's been a busy, "feeling out of control of anything" type of week and it's only Wednesday! So I'm processing my current life situation with dealing with aging parents while I process the vegetables sitting in my kitchen. It seemed like a good day to do both as I need to stay home for my son's life plan meeting with his support team which is happening this morning. Turning pumpkins into puree. Cabbage into sauerkraut. Corn into niblets to be canned. And problems into prayers.  It's a processing kind of day.  

I've been thinking about age a lot lately and the whole idea of aging with grace and beauty. I was out walking the other day and was admiring all the beautiful colors on the leaves. They are gradually turning color this year, but are just gorgeous in their brilliant red, gold, orange and shades of brown. As they turn color they are starting to fall and they line the path where I walk with a blanket of colors. And it's a spectacular sight.  But as the season goes on and more leaves let go of the branch and drop to the ground, there are always a stubborn few who refuse to let go. They stick tightly to the branch and wither and die and some actually remain there all winter long, only to drop in the spring. This reminds me of aging and raises the question of how do we age with grace and beauty and know when to let go of activities, ministries, and things we've always done? How do we know when the time has come to set aside from what we've always loved doing on order to allo